The Web of Time
by Shadow of the Fire Bird
Summary: A bizarre tale that chronicles a voyaging Doctor, his travels across the universe, and his ever changing relationship with the one person who could never leave him (All Doctors X OC)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Doctor Who fanfic. Enjoy!

Prologue: My Name Is Forever

In the rustling of the leaves  
someone called my name

a voice so familiar  
same old haunting refrain

hearing you on that Autumn day  
My mind seemed to float away

to another time and place  
visions of your handsome face

feelings just won't go away  
keeps returning day by day

Caught up in the web of time  
ever returning in my rhymes

if I could take tomorrow  
trade it for today

I'd wrap my arms around you  
never let you walk away.

-Heather Burns, _The Web of Time_

It is not often that I lower myself like this, but I've been steadily steeping downward these last few centuries so I suppose it was going to come to this eventually.  
Yes, I did say centuries. I'm a lot older than I look…sometimes anyway. It really does depend on the circumstances.  
That's how it goes with my current forms. In fact, I probably look a lot like you humans.  
I'm not human, you see. I'm Axis; as in, the center point that everything else revolves around. Species Prime, if you will: the oldest race in the universe. We call ourselves the Lyall.  
That's me. Or was me, anyways; we're gone now. That doesn't mean we don't exist anymore; we just left this plane of existence and moved on to another. We saw that our time was growing to an end in this universe. People feared us, feared our eyes.  
We can see anything we want to see; our sight reaches to the star above and beyond…So very far beyond. Anyways, we were stretched too thin, our numbers were depleting, and our immunity was running low. Not to mention everyone else in the universe wasn't very fond of us.  
Ugh, ingrates. Sometimes, I don't know why I bother putting up with the rest of the universe, considering they tried to shove us all out. We didn't mind though.  
We went happily; dissolving our current forms and preparing to elevate ourselves on to a greater state of existence.  
A lot of people went ahead of me. Being one of the younger members as well as one of the most _important _members of our species, I was exempted from early passage and had to wait at the back of the line to ensure that the process was safe for me to perform.  
And that's where my problems started.  
I was pretty happy to leave this place, you see. I was fed up with being amongst the lower breed and being the curious, adventurous youth that I was, was pretty happy to head off on another adventure in a world of existence I couldn't even begin to imagine. So, I headed off with the others, but I didn't make it. That's right, I got left behind. You see, I displaced my current form, a shape hardly comprehensible by the other mongrel races and my particles went everywhere. They spread out to the farthest reaches of the universe and beyond. I was airing myself out to fully cleanse my particle form before sifting up into the next dimension and hurtling towards something entirely new and frankly not comprehensible by you humans. But, I was interrupted. While I was all over the place, I accidentally got snatched up by a runaway doctor and his stupid blue box…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1: Meeting

I've never understood the expression of ear-splitting headache until the moment I crashed head-on into a time machine. I know that seems kind of silly, but the expression rains true. In fact, everything split out from around me like shattering glass. My mind went white with pain as I was bombarded with millions upon millions of colors, sounds, and data. It filled me up to the point that I thought I was going to explode. People, places, sounds, noise, war, terror, happiness, pain, love, loss. All of these things churned around in and around me, tangling through my essence like some kind of turbulent storm. Too much…it was too much. My conscious expanded violently in an attempt to compensate for this sudden onslaught of information, but it eventually ruptured and imploded so that I was left to sort myself back out in an eerie sort of silence, once all of my jittery neurons had calmed down.  
When I came too, I felt something solid beneath my fingers. It took me a few moments to process this as my senses were still far too shell-shocked for me to make sense of anything, but the solidity beneath me was the first thing I noticed. As was an odd kind of fuzzy ringing in my ears.  
Something solid, something solid but still humming faintly like the distant drone of a bee. I was already well enough aware that something in my ascension had gone horribly wrong but some ignorant, hopeful part of my mind still wished to believe that I had made the dimensional jump successfully. The next thing to switch back on were my ears, although this process was considerably slower and less abrupt than my transition back to physical touch was. The latter already sent my body into a jittery panic as I wasn't supposed to even have a physical body anymore. Back to the head thing, I think my mind was trying to patch itself back up because my brain felt like it was made of cotton, but I was still conscious enough to make out the sounds of voice surrounding me.  
"I think she's waking up," the voice of a young girl exclaimed.  
"Good, so the transfer was successful," a second voice, older and grimmer replied. "Come away from her, Susan. She has probably had quite the shock."  
"Will she be alright?" the first voice, Susan, inquired.  
"We shall see," the second replied as it was at that time that I got full control of my motor skills again. Forcing the stuffy feeling from my mind, I willed myself back into clarity and slowly opened my eyes. I was lying on a hard but oddly warm surface with two faces peering down at me with a steadily growing curiosity. It was obvious from their appearance that they were the two who had been examining me during my slow ascent back into consciousness as one was an old man and the other a young girl. The young girl was small and fairy like with large, dark eyes and a scruffy mop of short, dark hair. She was dressed in a very simple cotton dress. As for the old man, his face and hands were lined with age, his hair powder white and thinning above the forehead. His nose was hooked almost like a bird's beak; his fingers were long and seemed to constantly be fumbling with something. He was dressed in a suit with gaudy plaid pants and a long scarf.  
"There now, see?" the old man reassured Susan. "She's quite alright."  
"What-?" I croaked out the simple question, my voice felt scratchy and thick. "What's happened?" I tried to lift my head but it felt oddly heavy, like it was replaced with a bowling ball. I fell back against the floor with a groan.  
"Easy now," the old man knelt down beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. Whoa, hot hand! Hot blood! With a cry, I jumped back and, despite the crashing in my head, I skidded into a sitting position and jumped away from him. The old man watched me intently as I leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.  
"W-What is this?" I struggled to keep my voice even, "What are you?" I paused to try and gather my bearings, squeezing my eyes shut. That funny ringing noise was back as well as an odd sort of pounding in my temple. In fact, the pounding was everywhere, beating under a kind of flesh that felt like it was stretched far too tight and thin over my organs.  
No, I snapped my eyes open again. I stared down at myself. Little could be seen for a long, black overcoat had been hastily thrown over my form but there was something definitely physical underneath it. At the sight of this, my heart plummeted into my stomach.  
"Why does it feel so hot?" I whispered, a building dread coating my words.  
"I'd imagine you are not used to the form the TARDIS gave you," the old man replied simply, "It will take a while to adjust.  
Form….adjust? No, no it couldn't be.  
But it could. My dread only ran deeper as I slowly raised my hands to hold them in front of my face. Long, thin bones, muscles, and tendons all encased in a withering kind of flesh. White like milk and covered in kneaded wrinkles; this body was shriveled and old, dying perhaps! I didn't know. Everything about it felt so horribly wrong. The heat, the pounding of blood that coursed through my veins, this wrinkled flesh that had replaced my smooth, porcelain skin. My body, my beautiful body had been lost, disintegrated and there was no other-dimensional form I could take.  
I was too dignified to scream; I had lost enough of my dignity already so I let out nothing but an anguished cry, stunted by tightly gritted teeth.  
"No! What is this?" I cried, staggering to my feet. My legs trembled under my own weight, thin as toothpicks. Useless! Useless and weak! "What is this useless flesh? I am not this! I am divine!"  
"You are no more a god than I am," the old man stated as he drew Susan into his chest; the young girl seemingly frightened by my outburst.  
But, is that really saying much? What you are, what you could only be…There is no other creature that you could possibly be.  
"What have you done?" I whispered; my voice tight with barely concealed rage. "What have you done, Time Lord?!"  
"So you are aware of what I am?" the man stated calmly, despite my furious gaze scalding his form. Releasing the young girl, he slowly walked over to me, far too close to for comfort. I stood firmly rooted to the spot; wanting to step away, but my pride would not permit it.  
"You know what I am and I know what you are," he continued.  
"How can you? I am trapped within this feeble human flesh."  
"It is written all over you essence and it was revealed in its blinding glory when you first entered my TARDIS." Here, the old man paused to gently brush his finger along the scape of my jawline; running the single digit delicately over every grove in this oddly aged skin. "You are so beautiful," he whispered; his voice seemingly thoughtful.  
"How dare you lay a hand on me?" I spat, stepping back this time from revulsion. Of all the creatures in this heavily polluted universe, I had to be dumped into the lap of a Time Lord? I can't say I was really thrilled about it, not in the slightest. It was no secret that our two races didn't really get along. We weren't sworn enemies or anything, us Lyall just weren't too fond of how nosey the Time Lords were; their constant inter-dimensional meddling and the invasion of our personal space that this usually entailed. We were both prideful races, ancient and self-indulgent. We were destined to clash, like rubbing two pieces of sand paper together to coin a human simile.  
"You have no right to speak such a word as 'beautiful' towards me after what you have done!" I continued to scream, waving my arms in the air in a fit of almost hysterics. The Time Lord calmly stepped back from me. "Speaking of which, undo it. Undo it now" I continued, gazing around the odd white kind of platform we were all standing on. Platform, no bridge. That's it; it was more like the bridge of a spaceship, but different in some ways. It was impossible to describe.  
"What do you mean by 'undo,'" the Time Lord asked.  
"You heard me," I turned back to him. "Your Time Machine has disrupted my ascension and left me stranded in this false form. Release me, and let me be on my way. Or have you perhaps desired to take me captive from the beginning? I have heard of Time Lord nobility but also of their slimy greed."  
"I have no intentions to hold you here against your will," the old Time Lord insisted, taking off his fez to whip his sweaty brow. "None whatsoever, I assure you. As for releasing you, I am afraid I can do no such thing."  
As his words, I curled my hands into fists and started shaking so great was my rage. Where did this Time Lord think he had the right?  
"What do you mean you cannot undo what has been done to me?" I cried, my voice slightly shrill.  
"As I said, what has been done to you was not my own doing but rather that of the TARDIS" the Time Lord replied.  
"TARDIS, you keep saying that. What does it mean?"  
"It's the name that was given to the time devices of the Time Lords," the young Susan, who had previously been standing off to the side watching the exchange between myself and her elderly companion, suddenly piped up. "TARDIS is a word built from the initials. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. See? It's quite clever."  
As she spoke, Susan gestured behind me to what looked like the central console that seemed to control this bizarre device they called the TARDIS. As I turned to face it, I immediately felt a strange kind of pull towards it. Something was pulsing within the depths of this ancient creature and the waves it gave off with old and familiar to me. They were me. I was in the TARDIS!  
"That's me," I whispered, my anger momentarily subsiding. Now feeling rather numb, I walked up to the console, gripping the coat tightly around my otherwise naked form. The console was shaped like a large disc that had a kind of pump in the middle that shot straight up to connect to the ceiling. Surrounding the center were dozens upon dozens of brightly colored buttons, knobs, pulleys, levers, as well as computer systems and other odds and ends I couldn't be bothered to identify. Slowly, I placed my hand on the TARDIS surface, not caring that the old man and the girl named Susan were watching me intently. "That's me," I repeated, "I'm in the TARDIS."  
"So, it would seem," the Time Lord stated, striding up beside me. "When you began your ascension into the next dimension with the rest of your people, your physical body evaporated and your spiritual energy-"  
"Amina" I interrupted him. "Our spiritual energy is called Amina."  
"Right. As I was saying, while you were spread out across the face of the universe, your core essence was passing through the universal stream on which the TARDIS rides, like a river, towards its destinations through time and space. Said core collided with the Heart of the TARDIS and dragged the rest of you with it." He paused to look at me. "I can imagine that wasn't a very pleasant experience."  
I scowled, fuming slightly at the look of condescending sympathy in his eyes. Young eyes despite his otherwise heavily-aged appearance.  
"Why did the TARDIS pull me in then?" I demanded. "A withering old Time Lord like yourself would have no use for me and I, a Lyall, would have no use for you."  
"I couldn't begin to understand," the old man replied with a shrug. "The TARDIS is a device that is not easily comprehended. It does what it feels is right for the good of its passengers and , as it can exist at any point along the universal time line, we may not know the extent of its true intentions until much later."  
"I don't care to ever know," I snapped back. "I shall continue my ascension on to my people.  
If you cannot free me from the TARDIS, than I will force it to do so."  
"I wouldn't do that," the old man advised but it was too late. Susan shrieked as I thrust my hand into the center of the time machine's console, gathering what little of my Amina remained in this withered form and sent it spiraling down through the complex inner workings of the TARDIS. As soon as I did so, I regretted it. It happened all over again. I was immediately thrust back into the turbulent hurricane that was the horrors of existing all at once. I felt like my body was being pulled in a million different directions at once, my mind loosening its hold on the here and now as everything was bombarding me, absorbing my essence. I became immense in size but impossibly small at the same time.  
_No, no, no, no! It's too much; make it stop!_  
I screamed as I was violently jerked away from the console and everything receded back to normal; my mind slowly smoothed itself like calming waves after a storm. The old man had me around the waist and was hoisting me towards a chair. He promptly put me down. I found that I was trembling and my cheeks were burning in what I could only imagine to be a blush. Gods, I hated having skin. I squeezed my eyes shut; refusing to look at the two Time Lords standing before me._  
No, no, no, no. This can't be happening. I can't be stuck in here, stranded in the chasms of the universe while the rest of my people left this plane and moved on to the next! _I needed to leave somehow. I needed to find a way to free myself from the TARDIS.  
"As I predicted," the old man pulled me from my musings. "You are buried within the depths of the Heart of the TARDIS; your central core has now been fused with it. It would be nearly impossible to free you from it. I am afraid, my dear, you are not going anywhere for a long time."  
"What are you to say that?" I demanded, jumping to my feet. "How dare you make such an arrogant proclamation to me? I will escape this place and be rid of you both. I will rejoin my people in this next world as I was meant to!"  
"That wouldn't be possible," Susan replied hastily. "Didn't you hear what my grandfather said? You are a part of the TARDIS. It gives you flesh so that you may exist outside it, but your core remains within the machine. You are too heavily woven into this universe. You exist everywhere at once. There is no way you would ever be able to pass on in this state."  
I felt like I'd been smacked. I wanted to smack back, but I was too stunned to do so as I staggered away from the Time Lord and Lady. Swaying from shock, it felt like a lead brick had dropped on my head.  
_No, no, no, no, NO!  
_ I shrieked as I slammed my fists into my head, feeling shaggy salt and pepper hair growing out of my scalp like brittle straw. "This cannot be happening. I cannot be stranded as this…this thing! I cannot be lowered to this state! I am a Lyall!"  
"The oldest in the universe," the Time Lord mused. "I am sorry. Truly. You must believe that I am. As a Time Lord, I only wish to help you, but there is nothing I can do for you."  
"Do not show me pity," I spat, advancing towards the old man. "You arrogant, self-indulgent simpleton!"  
"Do not speak to my grandfather that way!" Susan cried.  
"Grandfather?" I'd missed her calling him that the first time. "Aren't you a little young to be having grandkids, Time Lord?" I inquired of the old man with the young eyes.  
"Aren't you a little crude and brash for a Lyall?" he immediately shot back.  
"I have no desire towards civil interactions with the likes of the useless Time Lords or any of the other mongrels that pollute the universe of the Lyall!" I snapped in response.  
"Grandfather, there must be some way to free her from this state," Susan cried. "It will be entirely too unpleasant for all of us if she were to remain."  
Her grandfather sighed. "Believe me; I agree with you, Susan; but I do not know all of the secrets of the TARDIS. Perhaps, one day, this beautiful Lyall would be able to leave this place, but I do not know when that would be."  
"It will be one day very soon," I declared, tightening my hold on the coat around my shoulders before turning swiftly on my heel and stalking towards the door that seemed to lead deeper into the inner workings of the time machine. What little knowledge I had of these Time Lord machines was that they were immense in size. If perhaps, I traveled far and deep enough into the device, I could uncover the secret to freeing me from this cursed prison and my intolerable jailers.  
"Where are you going?" the young Susan called as I turned to leave.  
"Nowhere you need to concern yourself with," I replied sharply. "It is as you said: the TARDIS holds many secrets. Perhaps, I might find the key to my escape from your wretched presence."  
"What an utterly unpleasant woman," I heard the old man murmur to his granddaughter. "As it would seem, beauty is only skin deep."  
"I heard that, Time Lord," I snapped, "and you can stop degrading me with all of this 'beautiful' nonsense. As if I need to be told Lyalls are beautiful."  
"What are we to call you?" Susan then asked.  
I stared at her. "What?"  
"If what my grandfather says is true and you will remain here in the TARDIS than we must call you by something."  
I will not remain trapped in this place for long," I replied sharply. "Even if I did, you would call me nothing. My name is sacred; I will not allow it to be tainted by touching your lips."  
"There must be something to address you by," Susan pressed.  
"Perhaps a nickname," the old man offered. "You are of the Eternal lineage are you not?"  
"Eternal? As in, to live forever?" Susan inquired.  
"My family name has come to mean that," I admitted.  
"I know!" Susan exclaimed. "How about Terna?"  
I arched an eyebrow. "Terna?"  
"Yes, it's a play on the name Eternal. Eternal, Terna. Get it?"  
I replied with a heavy sigh.  
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," the old man exclaimed.  
"I do not recall asking for you opinion, Time Lord," I snapped back.  
"Doctor" he replied.  
I paused. "What?"  
"If we are to call you Terna, you ought to know what to address us by," the Time Lord explained. "My granddaughter has taken the name Susan," he gestured to the young girl. "And I am known as the Doctor."  
"Doctor what?" I demanded.  
"Just the Doctor."  
"That is utterly ludicrous," I stated flatly, turning once more to exit the room, but the Doctor stopped me yet again.  
"I don't want to later find out you have been messing with my things while you wander the TARDIS inner workings," he called to me, causing me to pause on the threshold. "Despite how unpleasant you are, you are still a guest on my ship."  
"And what shall you do if I do mess anything up?" I demanded as I snatched an antique magnifying glass from the TARDIS console. Best to be armed just in case; a normal object would do and my Amina will do the rest. "Nothing. A Time Lord is but a flea to the might of a Lyall. I doubt you would be a hindrance to me even in my current weakened state. Now, goodbye and good riddance."  
"I do hope you realize that I am sorry for what has happened to you, Terna. Truly I am," the Doctor continued on, but I stopped listening as I vanished into the bowels of the mysterious TARDIS.

Thus begins the adventure of a lifetime for both the Doctor and myself. On the day I met him, I never would have expected what would come from it. As the Time Lord said, the true intentions of the TARDIS are often not revealed until much later…

A/N: "Arrogant, self-indulgent simpleton!" Truly, love at first sight. And yes, Terna is a bit of a bitch, but that's subject to change in the future. After all, we have a long way to go. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This chapter is a rewrite of the previous chapter from the Doctor's perspective. Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Meeting (Version 2)

Not a day goes by that I do not marvel at the TARDIS. This spectacular device that I…ahem…_borrowed _from my home world; the contraption that I whisked myself and my surrogate granddaughter away from Gallifrey, home of the Time Lords. Never had I encountered a device of such complexity, such depth, such splendor and wisdom and I haven't since. I knew from the moment I touched the console that the TARDIS was more than a simple time machine, so much more. However, I never could have imagined what this splendid device would soon deliver me.  
Susan and I had barely escaped our world and were hurtling through the time stream at breakneck speed. As Susan screamed and cried bitterly from all of the turbulent knocking about, I desperately fiddled with the endless supply of buttons and knobs on the TARDIS console, trying to gain some form of control over the system. When I'd punched in the coordinates as we fled, I hadn't any particular destination in mind. None whatsoever. Also, this particular TARDIS was ancient and faulty. Who knew where we'd end up?  
For a moment, I thought neither of us would ever get anywhere at all. We'd only been airborne through the current for a few minutes when something very large, very powerful, and very heavy suddenly careened headlong into the system, shaking it up pretty badly and causing the entire machine to go into emergency shutdown mode. Susan screamed even louder and I gave a shout as we toppled head over heels around the TARDIS as it tumbled through the air. The whole system was going mad; sparks leapt up from the console and flashes of golden fire. I could hear the inner corridors of the machine groan and whine at the drastic amount of pressure and energy it was attempting to absorb. The gravity fluctuated wildly as we fell like a stone through time and space. Sometimes we were lighter than air and drifting upward to knock against the ceiling; other times we were heavier than lead and pinned to the floor gasping for breath.  
"Grandfather!" Susan cried; her eyes wide with terror as she reached out her small hands to grasp mine. I clutched her fingertips and held them tightly. "I've got you, Susan," I reassured her as we crashed head long through the fabric of space and collided into something dark, foul smelling, and very, very solid. The TARDIS squealed upon the impact and everything went black.  
The darkness was dense, thick like butter. I couldn't even see the end of my nose. I could feel Susan trembling beside me and I cautiously moved forward to grab her through the immense black and hold her close. The TARDIS remained still; we had finally reached the end of our descent. It felt as though we had fallen for hours. I hadn't the faintest idea where or when we were, but I didn't care at the moment. I also ignored the fact that the TARDIS was probably very, very broken. I was breathing heavily and the two hearts I possessed rattled around inside my chest. The darkness pressed in around us; it was almost suffocating. Susan buried her face in my chest and cried.  
"It's alright, Susan," I whispered, stroking her dark hair to comfort her. The black remained, imposing and unwavering. I didn't know what to do; I couldn't see a damn thing. Suddenly, the TARDIS console erupted to life, lighting up like a Christmas tree. Everything became consumed in a blinding, white light. I shielded Susan from the light as it spread out around us, like a bird opening its wings. The light was shockingly bright, burning like fire and stinging my eyes and my skin. I could feel it applying pressure to my body, so great was the weight of its energy, the intensity of its power. I gave a shout as the light consumed us, the TARDIS, and everything else in it. As it spread out around me, I willed myself to keep focused on the very center; the origin of the light. And that's when I saw it. The Heart of the TARDIS: bottomless and impossible. It was so pure it hurt to look at, as though all of my sins were being pushed before my eyes and burning them deeply. I could feel everything inside me beginning to unravel, but I couldn't pull my gaze away from this alarming sense of clarity and power laid out before me. As I willed myself to look deeper, I saw the source of all of the commotion; the crash and the light. The TARDIS had something snared in its depths, like a butterfly caught in a spider's web. Some kind of winged creature, full of power and wisdom that was spinning around its form, raveling and unraveling, exploding and imploding; the energy swept around it like some kind of violent current, reflective of the river of time. The creature writhed around inside its snare; trying desperately to pull free from the complex threads that knotted the TARDIS heart. It thrashed and cried out, its screams loud and pitiful, so full of agony. I felt its pain deep in the depths of my soul. It was laid out before me, completely exposed. A creature as old as time itself and in so much pain; so much energy was being poured into it, so much was coming out. I wanted to do something; something to end the suffering, its screams ringing in my ears. But I was frozen where I stood; transfixed by the beauty of the TARDIS and the beauty of the creature trapped within it. The clashed and fought one another, swirling together in some kind of horribly beautiful dance. And the creature was so incredibly beautiful. If she was what I believed her to be: a Lyall, the first creature in the universe. The TARDIS had brought me a Lyall! A member of the first race; it was so beautiful, it took my breath away. The clashing continued as I watched the two counter each other but the TARDIS almost seemed to surge out violently, unfolding to wrap tightly around the creature, trapping it fully deep inside its heart. The light grew even brighter and I had to avert my gaze. Although, I could still feel the heat against my face and the power at work. The TARDIS shielded the core of the creature's spiritual energy before severing a fraction and concealing it within a vessel, a shell it fashioned from its Heart. It laid the fraction of the Lyall's soul almost lovingly inside the skin it had formed. Then, as soon as it came, the light stopped; the Heart retreated back into the depths of the device. The pressuring darkness returned but only for a few moments. There was the faintest flicker, weak at first but it soon grew in power and then the rest of the TARDIS jumped back to life and was alight once more. Gently, I loosened Susan's hold around my waist and carefully got to my feet, feeling the ach in my bones as I did so. This body was wearing out already. I thought bitterly as I helped Susan to her feet as well. She was still crying but they were silent tears and her eyes seemed to shine more with an intense confusion rather than fear. I soon saw why. Lying on the ground, still as a corpse, was the shape I had seen the TARDIS fashion from the energy of its Heart. No longer bathed in the splendor of the Heart or the Lyall that it now housed, the body looked entirely ordinary. However, to my sensitive eyes, I still saw the power that pulsed under it; the blue energy that coursed through the veins beside human-like blood. Otherwise, the body was middle-aged like myself with stringy grey hair and eyes hidden behind tightly closed lids. Also, it was naked.  
"Here, Susan." I closed my eyes and handed her my overcoat. She hastily tossed the coat over the Lyall's form.  
"She's clothed, Grandfather," the young girl informed me. I reopened my eyes and then, moving slowly with hesitation and also building excitement, I moved towards the body and kneeled down beside it. I could still see the power beneath the skin; it lingered over the entire form like some kind of faint perfume. Tenderly, I reached out and touched her forehead. Cold. Her body was cold. How odd, perhaps the TARDIS did not comprehend humanoid body temperatures. I hoped it wouldn't impair this creature in any way.  
"Grandfather, who is this woman? Where did she come from?" So fixed was I on the Lyall, that my granddaughter's questions outwardly startled me.  
"She's a Lyall, Susan," I calmly explained, getting back to my feet.  
Susan's mouth parted in shock.  
"You don't mean…" her voice trailed off as she leaned in closer to the sleeping woman.  
"I do indeed, the oldest race in the universe. The first race, to be more precise."  
"She looks like us," Susan observed.  
"This is not her true form," I replied simply. "She shed her true form in order to leave this universe behind and pass on to the next dimension. However, it would seem she got caught in our TARDIS while we were riding the time stream. The TARDIS seems to have imprinted itself deep inside her celestial essence and has now granted her a new, human shape to compensate for her loss."  
"That's horrible," Susan whispered.  
"And uncomfortable, I'd imagine," I added.  
"Will she be alright?" Susan inquired.  
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the Lyall's eyelids flicker slightly. "We shall see," I replied.  
She opened her eyes then. I was alarmed to say the least. They were a striking shade of blue. A kind of blue that was so vibrant, so deep, and so intense that it almost seemed to glow when you looked at it head on. Beautiful; everything about this creature was beautiful.  
"There now, see?" I reassured my granddaughter. "She's quite alright."  
Susan didn't seem convinced as the Lyall attempted to move and speak. I attempted to aid her, but as soon as I did, her cold blood reacted to my overheating blood and she jerked away from my with a rather unpleasant cry.  
The creature was in quite the tizzy for a little while. She didn't seem to have any recollection of what had just occurred. She only remembered that she was supposed to be somewhere, anywhere but here. And she was vile. Oh, was she every vile. The classic, wealthy, spoiled brat of a Lyall that I would never be caught dead associating with had this been any other circumstance. Okay, so maybe not everything about her was beautiful. Naturally, when I explained to the details of her current state: now being deeply infused into the TARDIS inner workings, she wanted out and wanted out immediately. This was where we got ourselves into a rather large pickle. I knew next to nothing about the TARDIS. I'd only just borrowed it. There was probably an instruction manual lying around here somewhere, but I sure as hell wasn't going to slave through all that meandering text to try and figure out how to properly drive this thing, let alone figure out how to get a living creature out of the Heart. I didn't have the patience for that kind of grunt work.  
When I explained to the Lyall that I did not know how to remove her from the TARDIS, she was thoroughly put off and rightfully so; when I tried to empathize with this marvelous creature, she was even more put off by me and in a much more crude of a way. Evidently, her pride bled deeper into her soul than mine did. Did she ever have an ego. She was thick too. She almost got us all killed by trying to manually remove herself from the TARDIS on a sporadic whim. I had to forcefully wrench her away from the console before her head exploded from the energy's pressure and splattered all over the place, ruining the nice paint job. This proved to be awkward because she was still naked beside my overcoat. I then deposited her into a chair. It seemed at that moment that the true extent of her situation fully set in and she let out an ear-piercing shriek. "This cannot be happening. I cannot be stranded as this…this thing! I cannot be lowered to this state! I am a Lyall!"  
A Lyall; under any other circumstance I would be positively ecstatic at this revelation. However, it didn't take long for me to recall the full extent of the race that claimed to be the first life in the entire universe. They were as arrogant as they come and considered every other race in the universe that had come after them as nothing more than mongrels, an afterthought. Also, there were two types of Lyall and I didn't know which one of them this particular creature was.  
All the same, I still tried to quiet the girl; if only to get her to stop screaming. "The oldest in the universe," I spoke with an air of forced sympathy. "I am sorry. Truly. You must believe that I am. As a Time Lord, I only wish to help you, but there is nothing I can do for you."  
That proved to be a mistake. The Lyall, for I still didn't know her name, seemed to have taken my attempts of comfort for condescension  
"Do not show me pity! You arrogant, self-indulgent simpleton!"  
Huh, I don't think I've had a woman point out my greatest flaws after being in my presence so briefly. Although, the simpleton comment irked me somewhat.  
Susan seemed displeased about it as well.  
"Do not speak to my grandfather that way!" she cried.  
The Lyall seemed rather amused by the 'grandfather' title.  
"Aren't you a little young to be having grandkids, Time Lord?"  
Now, that simply isn't fair. Susan isn't my real granddaughter because I am indeed too young to have grandkids; I don't even have any _children_. For God's sake, I'm only four hundred and six!  
"Aren't you a little crude and brash for a Lyall?" My patience was wearing thin. Despite the beauty of this creature and my excitement at beholding one of the universe's oldest beings, I had entirely forgotten their vulgar attitude towards anything that wasn't their own kind. They were the epitome of racial bigots.  
"I have no desire towards civil interactions with the likes of the useless Time Lords or any of the other mongrels that pollute the universe of the Lyall!" See? Case in point right there.  
_Rightfully so, I suppose_, I thought to myself, _they have such strength and power, not to mention beauty. No. Stop it. Focus on the matter at hand.  
_"Grandfather, there must be some way to free her from this state," Susan cried. "It will be entirely too unpleasant for all of us if she were to remain."  
Unpleasant, indeed. Susan was right. The Lyall could not stay here. Trapped in the TARDIS after she'd already smashed it up and crashed us into an unknown planet and era. But, what could be done?  
I sighed. Quite the predicament. "Believe me; I agree with you, Susan; but I do not know all of the secrets of the TARDIS. Perhaps, one day, this beautiful Lyall would be able to leave this place, but I do not know when that would be."  
"It will be one day very soon," the Lyall declared before turning on her heel and swiftly heading towards the door that lead to deeper into the immense TARDIS, still wearing my overcoat like a cloak.  
I like that coat, I kind of want it back.  
"Where are you going?" Susan dared to inquire of the Lyall.  
"Nowhere you need to concern yourself with," she snapped in response. "It is as you said: the TARDIS holds many secrets. Perhaps, I might find the key to my escape from your wretched presence."  
Wretched? Really? Who crashed into whose Time Machine?  
"What an utterly unpleasant woman. As it would seem, beauty is only skin deep."  
Wait, did I say that out loud?"  
Apparently I did, because the Lyall was fuming. Her striking blue eyes were ablaze with a rage that had already been simmering and was now about to boil over.  
"I heard that, Time Lord, and you can stop degrading me with all of this 'beautiful' nonsense. As if I need to be told Lyalls are beautiful."  
Humble too, apparently. Also, it was a compliment you touchy woman! For God's sake, you_ are_ pretty, not that that's important but you are; you shouldn't cast such a declaration from someone aside like it's nothing. Have a little respect.  
"What are we to call you?" Susan then asked.  
Good question. The Lyall didn't seem to understand.  
"If what my grandfather says is true and you will remain here in the TARDIS than we must call you by something" Susan explained.  
"I will not remain trapped in this place for long." Let's hope not. "Even if I did, you would call me nothing. My name is sacred; I will not allow it to be tainted by touching your lips."  
"There must be something to address you by," Susan pressed.  
_Let it alone, Susan. Names aren't too important. Then again, depending on how long this Lyall is to remain in our company, a title of some kind might be in order._  
The question now was: what? Obviously not her real name so a nickname. Hmm, well, if my memory serves me, the last dynasty ruling the Lyall was the Eternal family. As all Lyall are technically related, even if she is not directly connected to them by blood, it would still be a name to call her by.  
"Perhaps a nickname? You are of the Eternal lineage, are you not?" I voice this theory aloud.  
The Eternal stared at me with a look of barely concealed surprise. Seems I hit the nail right on the head.  
"Eternal? As in, to live forever?" Susan inquired.  
"My family name has come to mean that," the Lyall admitted. Yes, so I _was _right.  
"I know! How about Terna?" Susan offered.  
The creature gave her a funny look "Terna?"  
"Yes, it's a play on the name Eternal. Eternal, Terna. Get it?"  
_That's actually kinda clever, Susan, not to mention the name means something in High Gallifreyian. Can't remember what though. That's going to bug me for days. _  
The Lyall didn't seem too thrilled about the name. However, she didn't object to it either. She just sighed heavily. What a drama queen!  
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," I cried.  
"I do not recall asking for you opinion, Time Lord," she shot back.  
"Doctor," Enough of this 'Time Lord' business.  
The Lyall, Terna rather, looked confused. "What?"  
"If we are to call you Terna, you ought to know what to address us by," I explained. "My granddaughter has taken the name Susan and I am known as the Doctor."  
"Doctor what?" Terna demanded.  
"Just the Doctor." It's not that hard to figure out.  
"That is utterly ludicrous," Terna stated before turning to leave once more. Well, that was just rude.  
"Terna," I called after her. She stopped on the threshold in response. "I don't want to later find out you have been messing with my things while you wander the TARDIS inner workings," You already took my coat. "Despite how unpleasant you are, you are still a guest on my ship."  
"And what shall you do if I do mess anything up?" Terna demanded as she snatched an antique magnifying glass lying on the TARDIS console. Great, now she's taking my magnifying glass. "Nothing. A Time Lord is but a flea to the might of a Lyall. I doubt you would be a hindrance to me even in my current weakened state. I suppose she does have a point there. "Now, goodbye and good riddance." The feeling's mutual. However, as I watched the Lyall standing in the doorway, her iridescent blue eyes shining with a dozen different emotions, I couldn't help but feel another pang of sympathy, and perhaps even empathy. She was, after all, all alone in this vast universe, left to wander alone in the fourth dimension. Susan and I, on the other hand, were cut off from our people as nothing but homeless runaway.  
"I do hope you realize that I am sorry for what has happened to you, Terna. Truly I am," I called to her.  
Terna didn't respond; she silently swept out of the room and vanished into the darkened depths of the TARDIS.

Where she was headed I didn't know, nor did I know what the TARDIS that had brought her here to me had in store for the both of us. I couldn't have imagined it in a hundred years.

A/N: Well, there it is chapter 3! For those of you that haven't seen my profile page, I'm going to be uploading a new chapter every Sunday in order to stick to a schedule. Stay tuned for more


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: As you probably noticed, I renamed the story. The new name is actually a phrase in Latin! It means 'Wolf Queen' and, a little trivia, the name 'Lyall' which is Terna's race also means wolf. As you can probably gather, there is going to be a bit of a wolf motif surrounding Terna. The reason for this is revealed later. With that said, here's chapter 3!

Chapter 3: Wandering

Terna didn't know what to expect when she crossed the threshold into the mysterious labyrinth that was the TARDIS. The halls were long, dimly lit, and eerily quiet. She tried not to allow herself to be discouraged by the twisted maze that lay out before her. Taking a minute breath, she willed herself forward, walking in a purposeful straight line. The first order of business was getting new clothes. The Time Lord known as the Doctor had stated that she could be remain trapped within the TARDIS for quite some time, but Terna was intent on proving him wrong in this theory. However, something to wear would be useful no matter how long she stayed. Now, the question was: were would she get clothes? Terna paused in the center of the hallway. Glancing around, she saw that hall branched out into several different directions with many doors and other side entrances lining the walls, like tributaries from a river or veins of blood they unfolded out from the center source and stretched off in numerous directions. Terna's heart fluttered nervously in spite of herself. How was she supposed to navigate this place? There didn't seem to be any sort of rhyme or reason to it.

The logical solution would be to turn right around and go back to the bridge of the ship to inquire after the Doctor about the layout of the TARDIS. However, Terna's pride was like a thick wall pressed to her back, pushing her only forehead. So, she pressed on. Striding with poised determination, she wound her way through the complex stream of identical hallways towards an unknown destination. At first, Terna only moved in a straight line, intent on remaining that way so as not to get lost. This got her nowhere fast; however, as all of the halls had doors on either side of them that seemed to lead off to other places. Finally, the hall ended and a large white door rose up to meet Terna. She stopped momentarily before swiftly turning the handle. She strode over the threshold without any further hesitation.

Her foot touch down on nothing; Terna's heart stood still behind her ribs and she let out a strangled cry as she toppled face first over a drop that branched out directly from the door. She hurtled towards the ground, arms and legs flailing wildly about her as the coat leapt up from her body and unfolded in the air like the wings of a bird. Terna closed her eyes and shrieked as her body smacked into a placid, freezing surface. Water ballooned out around her and she sunk down into the dark depths. Terna reacted by instinct and she thrust her body through the thick waters, rushing towards the surface. She flung her head back with a gasp, water gurgling up in her throat and she threw herself, choking violently onto the rim of the water bed.

It took Terna a few moments to get her bearings before she hoisted her again naked, and now dripping wet, body from the water. It was like a million icicles crawling along her new skin; they clung to her body and made it a shivering mess. Terna cursed her own frailness as her knees buckled when she attempted to walk and she fell on all fours, retching and still fighting for air. Once she'd gotten her breathing under control, Terna flopped down onto her side, facing the body of water that she'd abruptly tripped into. Her eyes widened as she returned her attention to it.

"It's a bloody swimming pool!" she cried, sitting bolt upright and staring at the Olympic-sized swimming pool. It ran the whole length of the otherwise empty and spacious room, complete with a water slide and rows of plastic lawn chairs for lounging.

"What is with this place?" Terna wondered aloud as she scrambled to her feet, sore, soaked, and newly put out. She snatched the coat from its crumbled heap a short distance away, and tossing it over her shoulders, trooped towards the nearest exit behind the water slide. Her bare feet slapped against the polished floor as she walked; it made a dejected echo throughout the large room. The chlorine water quickly soaked through the overcoat, turning it into a moist, stiff, and foul-smelling carpet. Terna would be grateful when she was able to discard it. If she ever found a wardrobe.

Terna was understandably cautious as she opened the door that lead out of the swimming pool room and even more cautious as she stepped over the threshold. The room beyond was initially dark, but when Terna fully entered it there was a faint, mechanical buzz and it abruptly lit to life. Terna's mouth parted in spite of herself. The room was shaped like a dome with a kind of painted mosaic on the ceiling, like the Sistine Chapel. The walls were tall, and covered entirely from head to toe in books. Shelves upon shelves upon shelves were lined neatly around the circular room with books stacked across each row. There were books of all colors, shapes, and sizes. Some seemed to be yards in length, others smaller than a pocket dictionary. There were books bound in leather, cloth, even skins. Some were just rolls of parchment or scrolls. Some weren't made of paper at all, but rather transparent orbs with multicolored smoke and bizarre lettering in some kind of alien language bobbing around inside it like soap residue in a bubble.

Terna gazed all about her as she walked towards the center of the library, constantly spinning circles so as to view it from all angles. She'd never seen anything like it. In the middle of the polished floor there was a desk about the size and width of three refrigerators laid out on their sides, although squat and low to the ground so that the top only came to Terna's waist. A strange assortment of objects was littered not too neatly across the desk's surface. Terna walked up to the desk, curiosity getting the better of her. The objects turned out to be pieces of clocks. Clocks that were broken so that their clogs were shattered or their screws were bent and some clocks that weren't broken at all, so they seemed like dissected animals: taken apart to see how they worked from the inside. The pieces were spread out like puzzle pieces all across folded and peeling pages of blue prints all scribbled across in a frantic, squished script. Some written in languages Terna recognized, others she'd never seen before.

Slowly, Terna reached out and picked up the nearest cog that seemed to belong to a half-finished clock that had no hands but instead a series of little comets that zipped around the face behind the glass, knocking against the numbers like a series of mini-ping pong balls. She held the clog aloft and a flicker of colored light flashed momentarily. Terna's eyes narrowed as she reached into the pocket of her overcoat and her hand closed around the handle of the antique magnifying glass she'd swiped from the console of the TARDIS. Holding it in front of the object, it was abruptly magnified several times over and Terna could see a curious purple light swirling around inside the little hole in the center of the clog. Terna set the clog down and eyed the magnifying glass curiously. It seemed to be an utterly arbitrary and insignificant object, but the first thing Lyall learned when they were taught how to harness their unique energy force, Psychic Amina, was how to transfer it into everyday objects and manipulate them to their will. Terna didn't know how this body transfer would affect her previously advanced skills. It seemed she would have to start back at square one.

Standing there in the middle of the library, Terna's grip tightened on the polished handle of the glass. She squeezed her eyes shut and sharpened her mind's eyes, searching through the shell of skin for traces of Psychic Amina. Terna gasped, the glass nearly falling from her hands as her eyes snapped back open. There was nothing there! No Psychic Amina anywhere inside the miserable skin she was now forced to wear like an ugly work uniform. There was only Force Amina and that was no good. Force Amina was what kept a Lyall alive, their life force. She couldn't tape into that and use it for manipulation or combat; she'd damage herself and drain her power until she was snuffed out like birthday candle.

"Useless!" Terna cried, flinging her arms out and swiping all of the clocks bits off the table in one fluid motion. They clattered to the floor with a series of crashes and bangs as well as the clinks of shattering glass. The magnifying glass still clutched tightly in her grasp, Terna sprinted towards the opposite end of the library and the door that lead out. She threw it open and jumped the threshold without a moment's pause, not even caring if she fell down into another swimming pool. The door banged shut on its own behind her, knocking Terna into the room with a little more force than she would have liked.

She fell forward slightly and staggered into a row of suspended wool and leather dangling from a rack. Terna got a face-full of moldy, underused garments.

Wait…clothes! Terna jerked her head up and staggered to her feet. She took a step back; her jaw once again going slack as she gazed up at the room that unfolded around her. It was filled with nothing but clothes. It was another high-ceilinged space and shaped like a beehive with several floors that all curled around the rounded walls and stood looking out on the main space. Clothes hung from various racks and rows upon rows, all layered on top of one another. There were dresses, pants, shoes, costumes of all types, shapes, and sizes. Materials of plants, plastics, and animal skins; some Terna couldn't even imagine what they could be made of. A side room opened up into a long hall-like room filled with more accessories than Terna ever had in her chambers on her home world. She'd never seen so many hats and earrings.

"I found the wardrobe," Terna declared, shamelessly discarded the soggy, ruined coat and, tripping over a twelve foot, multicolored scarf, stumbled in amongst the jungle of clothing.

Terna roamed the racks of garments that stood erect, silent like soldiers; staring down on her. She couldn't even begin to decide what she wanted to wear. She'd always had brought to her the very best of attire to wear, but never had she had so many choices! Towards the center of the room, Terna paused for a moment when she spotted a full-length mirror nestled between a multicolored suit and a pin-striped suit with a tan overcoat. She surveyed her bare form imprinted on the glass. It was a humanoid type, like her true form. So at least she wasn't some kind of bi-pedal lizard. The form was slight and willowy although aged and frail-looking. The bones protruded out at her hips and chest. Her skin was lined with a series of wrinkles that gathered in folds at certain indents in her body. Around her eyes and lips, they gathered to add distinction to her facial features. Thereby, perhaps giving her the look of a human female in her early to mid-sixties. Otherwise, her face was chiseled, sharp, and angular in the jaw with sunken-in cheeks and a heavily-lidded brow. Wavy, salt n' pepper hair bloomed from her crown and swept down around her shoulders like a flurry of ash. Terna fisted a handful of it and held it in front of her eyes. A new hairstyle was definitely in order. However, it was the eyes that were the most striking. Terna was alarmed to see that they were in fact the same eyes she'd possessed in her true form. Walking closer to the mirror and leaning forward so that her pointed nose was practically touching the glass, Terna could see the thin wisps of blue light swirling around inside her hollow irises like a pair of glass orbs. Force Amina and it was a brilliant shade of blue. To be frank, it was multiple shades of blue: all different pigments from azure to sapphire, to sky and navy. It was a blue rainbow.

"Lucent, still Lucent," Terna chuckled to herself, pleased with the familiarity. There were two types of Lyall in the universe: Lucent and Opaque. Lucent were at odds with their yellow-eyed cousins as they were on complete opposite ends of the morality spectrum. When the universe was first formed and the Lyall were formed from the energy used to create it, the Lucent Lyall sought to create the perfect universe by using their energies to shape more and more races to fill it. While the Opaque sought to create this universal perfection by continuously taking them away until only they remained as they saw only the Lyall fit to remain in the universe. However, that was gone now.

Terna froze as she stared at her reflection. The memories came rushing back as she gazed into her own, deep blue eyes. That's right. There would no longer be the struggle as old as time itself between Lucent and Opaque Lyall for neither was left. There was only her: Terna; the last of them both; the only Lyall left in the entire universe.

The reality of this revelation exploded out around Terna and she suddenly felt very exposed and cold all over, and she doubted it was from her lack of clothing. Terna began to tremble violently as a horrible pain that burned like dry ice welled up in the pit of her stomach. She clutched at her chest and made a kind of choking sound. Her parents: her mother the High Queen, her father the Inventor King. Her sisters who ruled beside her, her brothers who charged the Royal Guard to protect them. Her tutors, her playmates, her servants and handmaidens, her subjects, her planet, her people. Rangi….even Rangi was gone. And he said he would never leave…No matter what happened. But he was gone…they were all gone now. They'd departed from the universe they'd help shape all those millennia ago and left her to drift throughout space alone, like the last autumn leaf left to slowly wither and die alone on a bare branch. Terna wrapped her arms around herself as though holding her body tightly would somehow make the emptiness less distinct; as though she could somehow give herself comfort. She couldn't. She couldn't stand the loneliness pressing in around her. Terna sank to her knees in front of the mirror and started sobbing.

A/N: I wasn't entirely sure what to do with Terna's brief exploration of the TARDIS. This chapter sort of wrote itself, but I think it turned out alright. I hope you agree. In terms of the perspective, it rotates between chapters from first person perspective of Terna, then the Doctor, then third person in that order. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed this, especially all the foreshadowing wardrobe references Read and review!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry this chapter is a little late. I had Homecoming and a lot of homework this weekend. I hope it's worth the wait…

Chapter 4: Earth

It was a long time before Terna finally pulled herself from her hysteric sobs and sought after an outfit amongst the boundless wardrobe. How long, she didn't know or care as she finally selected an ankle-length, midnight blue dress with a halter collar that was bedazzled with silver rhinestones. Terna also found a series of silver cuff bracelets and a matching halo crown that encircled her forehead. The jewelry was all embellished with an eight-pointed star. Terna's stomach turned as she examined the star studded to her wrist. It was the Stellae Octo; the symbol of the Lyall.

Finishing the ensemble with a pair of silver sandals, Terna then fussed in front of the mirror and twisted her faded hair into a single braid that she then curled up into a bun behind her head. Relatively pleased with her appearance, Terna finally left the wardrobe room through a side exit and headed back into the labyrinth halls of the TARDIS. And thus, the trek began.

Time slowly drifted away from Terna as she sought after answers in the twisted maze of identical white halls, eerily lit and coated in thick shadows. Intent on combing every inch of the space, Terna opened every door she came across and tried to go down as many halls as possible, looping, intertwining, and backtracking in the hopes of covering as much ground as she. Her sense of direction slowly melted away like burning candle wax on a dying candle as did her sense of reason. Terna forgot all else as she explored the wonders of the TARDIS, trying to bury her sorrows and worries in the back of her mind and focus solely on her task at hand; finding a way to escape. The TARDIS was immense in so many ways, Terna's head spun at the mere thought of trying to comprehend it. Beyond the library, the wardrobe, and the pool, there were rooms filled with toys, old furniture, china and glassware, heaps upon heaps of moldy carpets in one, dozens of antique weapons and armor in one room that were all but rusted and decrepit. There was a giant atrium that was filled with hundreds of exotic plants, whose twisted vines coated thickly over every inch of space so that it resembled a jungle. There was even a room filled with nothing but socks. Weird, that was just weird.

Terna stumbled out of the sock room just as an odd feeling washed over her. She suddenly felt light-headed and her limbs went numb. Terna's eyelids felt like they were made of lead as she struggled to stay upright, leaning against a nearby wall for support.

"W-What is this?" she whispered. Was it some kind of malfunction in her skin? Was she ill? Terna staggered a short ways down the hall; her vision bleary as she all but smacked into a door at the end of the hall. With a weak groan, Terna leaned against the door and it slowly creaked open. She stumbled over the threshold and collapsed on her knees in the middle of a room that was completely white and completely empty. Terna breathed heavily, feeling the pressure of the emptiness pressing in around her.

"What is this place?" Terna whispered, glancing around. The white of the room was so clear and pale that it gave the illusion of glowing faintly. The funny ringing in Terna's ears had returned and it was steadily growing in octave. Terna groaned as she slumped to the ground and curled up in a ball. Closing her eyes, she was asleep within seconds.

When Terna awoke, an odd kind of light was buzzing before her still closed eyes. She snapped awake with a jolt and sat bolt upright. She was still lying in the middle of the empty, white room although now her body felt alert and refreshed, like she'd just had a nice, warm bath. Also, she was hovering a good four to five feet off the ground. Terna gave a shout and she immediately toppled back to the ground like a puppet whose strings had snapped.

"What the hell…" Terna's voice trailed off as she sat back up and massaged her head. She'd slept and she'd been drifting in midair.

So, this body grows tired like a common humanoid. That's good to know, Terna thought to herself as she glanced around, trying to pinpoint the source of the light that had awoken her. She quickly surmised that it was coming from behind the now closed door that led supposedly back into the hall. Light was spilling from between the cracks surrounding the frame. Also wafting from the thin space was a very peculiar scent. It smelled sweet and spicy, hot and frigid all at the same time. Terna's stomach twisted; it felt hollow beneath her ribs and her dry mouth started to water.

She crossed the room in a single stride and threw the door open. Beyond it, the hall had disappeared and was replaced with a marble dining hall. The room was long and scarcely furnished, filled only with a long table covered in a white table cloth as well as every food imaginable. There were meats, pastas, soups, salads, dozens of desserts as well as treats and meals that were impossible to comprehend let alone describe. Terna glanced around the room; she seemed to be alone. Where was the cook? Who had brought the food?

She pondered this, but not for long as her empty stomach was still fiercely gnawing at her insides. Terna quickly sat herself down at the head of the table and gratefully dug into the feast.

After Terna had eaten her fill, she quickly got up from the table and headed across the room where there was a door that most likely led back to the hall. Now that'd she'd quenched her appetite, it was time to go back to searching for a chance of escape. Terna quickly turned the handle and thrust the door expecting to find more of the empty, lonely hallways slowly winding a twisted and seemingly pointless path through the depths of the TARDIS, but instead…

Terna stepped out into the almost daytime light of the TARDIS main bridge. The same polished white walls and the same console sprouting out of the center like some kind of bizarre flower. The console hummed faintly in an irrational, irreverent pattern as various, multicolored lights flashed weakly across the console circuit board with faint hissing and popping noises. This was just barely marred by the droning humming of 'Yellow Submarine.'

Forcefully ignoring the latter, Terna gazed around the TARDIS; her mouth open in blatant shock. How had this happened? How had she ended up back in the TARDIS Bridge?

"Wait, what?" Terna cried, just as the Doctor stepped around the console and into her view. He ceased his humming and regarded her incuriously; his lined face breaking into a mocking smile.

"Why, hello, beautiful," he exclaimed.

Terna fumed; her hands curling into fists. "That jarring remark aside," she snapped with forced calmness. "How is it that I ended up back at the bridge?"

"You seemed to have gone 'round in a complete circle," the Doctor replied simply.

"Thanks for that, captain obvious," Terna shot back.

"Doctor," the Doctor replied with a wry smile.

Terna sucked in a sharp breath in the hopes of retaining her steadily mounting anger. "Must you be so infuriating?" she snarled through clenched teeth.

"Takes one to know one," the Doctor replied simply.

The tips of Terna's thin lips curled up into the slightest of coy smirks. "Oh come now, Time Lord; that is the lowest form of a witty retort."

"Ah, yes, but it was delivered with such biting disdain," the Doctor replied; his smile broadening before turning back to the console and continuing to fiddle with some exposed wires that were splayed rather carelessly across the dashboard. "That's a rather lovely dress, by the way," he added to Terna; his back still to her. "Blue is certainly your color."

Ignoring him, Terna glanced around the otherwise empty bridge. "Where's the girl?" she inquired.

"Oh, you mean, Susan? She's not here," the Doctor replied.

"What do you mean?"

"She grew tired of waiting in the TARDIS so she decided to go to school,"

"School? Whatever do you mean by that?" Terna demanded.

"This planet we're on, Earth, takes great pride in their education and Susan wished to experience it."

Terna blinked in surprise. "We're on a planet?"

"Indeed, and we have been for quite some time," the Doctor replied.

Terna's brow knitted in confusion. "But how? You were airborne when I was ensnared within the TARDIS,"

"Yes, well, that was five months ago," the Doctor explained simply.

Terna reared back in shock. "What?! Five months! How…How is that possible? I couldn't have been gone for more than a day and a half."

"Yes, well, time runs differently in the TARDIS," the Doctor replied. "It takes some getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it eventually."

Terna scowled. "That could have been useful information, Time Lord."

"You never asked," the Doctor replied simply, going back to messing with the console wires as he spoke.

Terna watched him keenly. "Why in the universe has Susan been going to school for five months on this menial, little mud-ball?

"Well, she needs to have something to do while we're stuck," the Doctor stated.

"Stuck? What do you mean stuck?" Terna cried.

"You heard me," the Doctor retorted. "In case you hadn't noticed, we'd crashed onto this planet and now we're trapped here. The TARDIS is too damaged to move at the moment."

"Oh that's just brilliant!" Terna threw her hands up in dismay.

"You have nobody to blame but yourself for this mess," the Doctor assured her.

"Hey, I wasn't trying to crash into your time machine. I'm not accountable for your poor driving skills, old man," Terna shot back.

"I'm not old! I'm only four hundred and six," the Doctor asserted.

Terna crossed her arms with a snort. "Could have fooled me."

The Doctor looked miffed. "Oh, why don't' you just go back into the TARDIS corridors and leave me alone. You're breaking my concentration."

"What are you doing anyways?" Terna asked.

"What I've been doing for the last five months! Trying to fix the TARDIS," the Doctor replied. "Do you think I want to stay on this back-water world? Of course not! I want off this rock as soon as possible. However, I haven't' the foggiest idea how to repair the damage you caused. Your energy signature is frying the circuitry."

Terna arched an eyebrow. "Have you tried reading the instruction manual?"

"Good heavens no!" The Doctor asserted as though this was obvious. "Why would I read that useless hunk of lettering?"

Terna sighed. "Great, just great."

The Doctor regarded her thoughtfully. "You know, Terna, I think the reason you haven't been able to detach yourself from the TARDIS heart is that it isn't properly repaired. I found during my tinkering that the machine tends to shut down its systems until it is functioning properly. Perhaps, once it is fully operational again, you may be able to pull free."

Terna perked up. "Do you honestly think that?"

"It's a possibility."

"Then, get moving on this hunk of space junk!" Terna exclaimed. "Don't just stand here talking to me."

"Then, stop being distracting," the Doctor shot back. "And the TARDIS is a master of trans-dimensional engineering. It is not junk."

Terna sighed, rubbing the space between her eyes. "God, you're unbelievable."

Terna sat slumped in an Egyptian throne she'd found conspicuously sitting in the corner of the time machine's bridge. She had no idea what it wasn't doing there, but she was too annoyed and bored to ask. She had absolutely nothing to do until the TARDIS was properly fixed and she had no desire to go back into the hallways and continue her now proven pointless wandering. At that moment, she heard the faint 'beep' of the machine's double doors opening and the Doctor sidled in, lugging a box full of wires, nuts, volts, and screws under one arm and a large, potted plant under the other.

"What's that?" Terna asked, perking up a fraction of an amount.

"These are some loose machine workings I found lying around. I'm hoping some might be able to replace the broken parts of the TARDIS," the Doctor replied, heaving the box onto the console beside the spot his was currently working on. "And this is a ficus, a kind of domestic house plant."

"Why do you need a ficus to repair the TARIDS?" Terna inquired.

"I don't," the Doctor asserted.

"Then why did you bring it in here?"

"I like it."

Terna face-palmed.

Setting the ficus tree down beside Terna and her Egyptian throne, the Doctor then proceeded to unload the many different parts from the box. Most were worn or broken and wouldn't be useful, but he found a few that seemed to be compatible and set to work on replacing them with the broken TARDIS parts. Terna shot the plant a pointed sideways glance, before she leaned back in her chair and lazily watched the Doctor work.

At one point, the Doctor suddenly looked up. "Terna, you wouldn't' happen to have any mercury on you, would you?"

"Why in God's name would I-?" Terna was interrupted by the sound of a shrill phone ring.

She started in surprise. The Doctor however, didn't miss a beat and quickly grabbed an old-fashioned, handheld phone from the other side of the TARDIS circuit board.

"Hello?" There was a brief pause as the Doctor listened to the other end of the phone line. "Alright, Susan," he added in response. "Don't stay too long…Alright, bye." He set the phone down. "Susan is staying after school to participate in some club activity," he explained to Terna. "She called ahead to let me know she'd be late coming home."

"You talk to me like I care," Terna grumbled in response.

The Doctor glared at her. They then lapsed into an empty silence filled only momentarily and rarely by the clinking of the machinery or the Doctor's rambled mumbling under his breath as he fiddled with the elaborate contraption.

Terna watched him with barely suppressed intrigue, wondering how the Doctor would be able to repair a machine so boundless and complex.

"Must you insist on sitting there, staring at me while I'm trying to work?" the Doctor broke the silence as he whirled to face her. "I can feel your eyes boring into the back of my skull."

"It's an improvement. Trust me," Terna shot back.

"If you've nothing better to do, might I suggest getting a breath of fresh air," the Doctor stated in a strained tone.

"What?" Terna demanded.

"You know, leave the TARDIS and take a stroll through the city. It's actually rather pleasant, and the weather's been very temperate as of late."

" I can't do that. I can't leave the TARDIS if I'm a part of it," Terna asserted.

"How do you know? You've never tried," the Doctor insisted.

Terna started at him, eyebrows raised. She hated even inwardly admitting he had a point. Scrambling to contain her pride, she stiffly rose to her feet and headed towards the doors. The Doctor opened them for her, pushing a button on the console.

Not bothering to thank him, Terna strode out of the TARDIs and was instantly submerged in a thick, frigid mist that clung to her body like a damp, wool coat. She stopped as a feeling like frozen needles raced up and down her bare arms.

She gazed around, but little could be seen of her immediate surroundings as all was obscured by the mist. It even marred sound. If there was supposedly a city nearby, all sound of it was quiet and the only sights of it were the fuzzy bubbles of light of streetlamps and windows bleeding through the haze. Terna could feel moisture settling on her long eyelashes; blinking rapidly, she took a few cautious steps forward. Her sandals slapped against worn, cold stone. She'd barely gone a few paces before she walked into a box lying on the ground. She gazed down at it in surprise to see that it was filled to the brim with a number of broken or shattered glassware. Looking around again, Terna could faintly see the jagged outlines of piles upon piles of nameless junk all cluttered around inside a high-walled space like some kind of twisted mountain range of garbage, curling around the lot from all sides. The TARDIS was right smack in the middle of the junkyard, standing erect and alone like some forgotten sentry. Terna breathed heavily, losing it within the clouds of fog. Despite the chill, it did feel cool and fresh outside and gave an odd tingle to her new skin that left her buzzing and giddy. Terna took a few more steps, carefully picking her way over the lesser piles and bins full of discarded items. The farther away from the TARDIS she got, the bigger the balloon of happiness in her chest swelled. A smile played at the corners of her mouth at the realization that she could move about outside the TARDIS. There was enough Force Amina in her skin to keep her away from the device at least for a short time. Her prison chain had been given some slack, and Terna could have laughed out loud for it.

"Oh, Terna, while you're out there; do you think you could grab one of those light bulbs from the box beside the TARDIS? The bulb I have in here is starting to dim," Terna jumped slightly at hearing the Doctor's voice. She'd almost forgotten he was there. Turning back around to face the TARDIS, Terna was alarmed to see that it had taken the shape of some kind of tall, wooden box. It was painted bright blue with POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX written across the top in big, white letters. The door had little windows at the top and sides and there was a little phone box attached to the front entrance. The open door of the TARDIS spilled a waterfall of light that bathed the misty yard in an eerie, yellow glow and Terna could faintly see a section of the bridge still as wide and empty as when she'd been inside it.

"Bigger on the inside," she breathed before stooping to collect a smooth, white bulb from a box beside the TARDIS door and heading back into the machine. Her amazement and bewilderment at the device was enough to deter her prideful fury at being asked to fetch something for the Time Lord.

The Doctor's back was to Terna when she reentered the TARDIS and he was once again engrossed in his work.

"What is it?" she asked him.

"What's what?" he replied without turning around.

"The TARDIS: according to rumor the devices of the Time Lords change shape depending on where they go in time and space, right? So, what is it now?"

"A police box," the Doctor replied. "We landed in London England in 1963 and so the TARDIS took that shape to blend in."

"A police box?" Terna arched an eyebrow. "What's that?"

The Doctor paused. "I don't really know to be honest," he replied. "Perhaps, Susan will; she's bound to have learned a good deal about the humans during her time among them."

"You should hope she hasn't suffered any damage from melting brain cells while interacting with those filthy apes," Terna stated. She was startled when the Doctor whipped around to face her.

"The humans are not filthy," he thundered, brandishing a screwdriver aloft as though he planned to use it as a weapon. The look in his eyes was alarming as they boiled with anger. Terna gripped the magnifying glass she'd hidden in the pocket of her dress. "What are you on about?" she demanded.

"Nothing" the Doctor relented, turning from her. "Would you screw that bulb in over there? I need to finish this."

Terna gritted her teeth as she released her hold on her magnifying glass and turned toward the slot the Doctor had indicated. With some precision, she screwed the bulb into place. It buzzed faintly before flickering to life. Terna watched as the bulb's light illuminate the TARDIS console and the darker portions of the exposed inner workings the Doctor had opened in order to repair them.

"Much better," the Doctor declared, bending over further to look at a particular spot before there was a shrill 'pop' and the light bulb suddenly exploded like a soap bubble, spewing flecks of pearly glass out all around like a brief snow shower. Terna leapt back with a slight shriek as the TARDIS was suddenly plunged into total darkness.

"You're a marvelous engineer, Terna," the Doctor grumbled through the dark.

"Shove it, Time Lord," Terna snapped back just as the beep of the doors sliding open could be heard. They both turned their way towards the slightly brighter outside as Susan stepped into the ship, trailing mist behind her like clinging cobwebs.

"Grandfather, I'm home!" Susan paused in the doorway. "Why are the lights off?" As soon as she spoke, they flickered back on and Susan's eyes widened at the sight of Terna.

"Oh, you're back," she exclaimed.

"How was school today, Susan?" the Doctor inquired of her.

Susan wilted. "Oh, I'm so embarrassed," she wailed.

"What happened?" Terna asked, hardly curious.

"I answered a question in history class and I got it wrong because I said the decimal system and that hasn't been invented yet!" Susan explained. "Everyone laughed and Ms. Wright was real cross with me."

The Doctor sighed. "Susan, if you want to go to school, you mustn't make a nuisance of yourself or be disruptive in class."

"But, Ms. Wright called on me!" Susan protested. "I had no choice but to answer."

"Why do you even bother mucking about with those primitive ingrates anyways?" Terna inquired dryly. "You could be here, helping your grandfather fix the TARDIS. You know, being productive."

Susan shot Terna a look. "I don't see you doing anything" she snapped back.

"I'm trying to find a way out of this trash heap, or have you forgotten?" Terna replied, slightly exasperated. "What happens to you and your grandfather is no concern of mine. However, I might have a better chance of working an escape if this hunk of junk was working properly."

Ignoring Terna's quips, Susan turned back to the Doctor. "You aren't angry with me, are you, Grandfather?"

"Of course not, Susan," the Doctor replied, "but you must remember to be a little more careful next time.

"Okay, I will," Susan replied. At her words, the Doctor gave her a grim smile before brushing past the girl and heading outside.

"Where are you going?" Terna called after him.

"To get another light bulb," the Doctor replied, a certain edge to his voice as the door shut behind him.

"What's his problem?" Terna wondered aloud.

"You really mustn't speak so harshly of the humans in front of my grandfather, Terna," Susan advised her.

"Why ever not?" Terna demanded. However, she was abruptly silenced with the sound of two voices outside that seemed to be interrogating the Doctor.

"Who's that?" Susan cried, her eyes growing wide.

Terna stared at the door; her expression hard. "You weren't followed back, where you, Susan?"

"Of course not, " Susan replied. "I always make sure to check to be certain.

"You clearly weren't careful enough," Terna cried, grabbing the girl's shoulders and shaking her slightly. "Do you have any idea of what the humans would do if they found this place? I know what they're like and it's not exactly kind and hospitable."

Susan whimpered.

"Who's in there?" someone from outside suddenly called, "Susan, is that you?" Terna and Susan both froze, staring intently at the still closed doors.

"Do you think the humans will hurt my grandfather?" the young girl whispered.

"You should worry more about what they're going to do to us," Terna replied grimly.

"Grandfather, are you alright?" Susan cried forlornly.

"Shut up," Terna hissed, slapping a hand over her mouth.

"Susan?" A woman's voice called. "Susan, is that you?"

"There's no one in there," the Doctor asserted.

"We heard a girl's voice inside that box," a man's voice asserted.

"You're hearing things," the Doctor replied, an edge to his voice. "Why would anyone be inside a simple cupboard like that?"

"Then it wouldn't be unreasonable to let us have a look inside then, would it?" the young man replied.

Terna winced. "I hope you're grandfather's a smooth talker. These people are persistent."

"There is no one in there," the Doctor continued to insist.

"You must help us, sir," the woman interjected. "We're two of Susan's teachers from school. We saw her come into this junkyard and we haven't seen her come out."

"I knew you were followed," Terna grumbled to Susan.

"Yes, now that I hear it further, it sounds like Ms. Wright, my history teacher and Mr. Chesterton, my chemistry teacher," the young girl replied weakly.

"Well, I'm afraid the whereabouts of this student of yours are no concern of mine," the Doctor replied coolly. "I suggest you leave here."

"Not until we're satisfied that Susan isn't here," the man replied adamantly. "Frankly, sir, I don't understand your attitude," he added.

"Yours leaves a lot to be desired," the Doctor shot back.

"Just open the door," the man pressed.

"There's nothing in there," the Doctor pressed back.

"Then what are you afraid to show us?" the man continued to verbally wrestle with the Doctor.

"We're getting nowhere," Terna grumbled, "at this rate, we may have to kill these meddlesome humans,"

"Oh don't say that," Susan wailed, "they're my teachers."

"I'm afraid of nothing," the Doctor declared. "Now, get out of here,"

"I think we better go to a policeman," the man said as an aside to the woman, who had remained silent for a while.

"Go ahead," the Doctor replied.

"And you're coming with us," the man continued.

"Oh, am I?" the Doctor's tone was patronizing. "I don't think so, young man. I don't think so."

"I'm growing impatient with this," Terna gritted her teeth.

"We can't force him to come," the woman whispered to the man.

"Yes, but we can't just leave him either," the man replied. "Isn't it obvious to you that he's got her locked up in there?"

"Oh, they're going to hurt my grandfather," Susan cried, moving as though she wanted to go outside after him.

"Stay put," Terna forcefully held her back.

"There's no knob on this door," the man continued.

"That was Susan's voice," the woman agreed.

"Susan!" the man called. "Susan, can you hear me?"

Terna looked pointedly to the girl. "Not a sound."

"Don't you think you're being a little high-handed, young man?" the Doctor snorted. "You obviously fantasized a young girl entering this yard and you imagined you heard her voice coming out of an old police box. It's not very substantial is it?"

"Why won't you help us?" the woman cried.

"I'm not hindering you," the Doctor asserted. "If you both want to make fools of yourselves, I suggest you go do what you said you'd do: go and find a policeman."

"Oh, and while you pop off quietly in the other direction?" the man demanded knowingly.

"Oh, I shall be here when you get back," the Doctor replied. "There's only one way in or out of this yard; I'm not going anywhere. And besides, I want to see your faces when you try to explain your actions to a policeman."

"But the TARDIS is broken," Terna muttered. "How would we get away then?"

"Never the less, we're going to find one," the man declared. "Come on, Barbara," he added to the woman.

"They're going to get my grandfather in trouble," Susan cried, "I have to help him!" She then elbowed Terna back and wriggled from her grasp, knocking Terna's magnifying glass out of her hand.

"Get back here, you stupid girl!" Terna snarled as the girl sprinted for the door. "Grandfather!" she cried, thrusting it open.

"It is her!" the man cried followed by the Doctor's protesting shout at he attempted to wrestle the man away from the door, while the woman managed to slip through.

"Barbara!" the man called as the woman entered the TARDIS but froze on the threshold; her eyes going wide as her expression unfolded to one of shock. Susan staggered back with a surprised cry and Terna grabbed the ficus tree by the trunk and held it threateningly like a spear. The man followed close behind the woman as she remained motionless where she stood and he too froze in shock as he gazed around him at the seemingly impossible display before him.

The Doctor sidled in after them, draping his disheveled scarf loosely over his shoulders. "Close the door, Susan," he said to the young girl, "and, Terna, put down that tree. You look silly." Susan obliged, pressing a button and the doors slid shut as Terna put down the tree and grabbed her magnifying glass from the floor, gripping it tightly just in case.

The humans turned slowly around and watched with glazed expressions as the doors slowly slid shut. "I believe these people are known to you," the Doctor said to Susan.

"Yes, they're two of my school teachers," Susan admitted.

"Clearly, she didn't check well enough to see if she was being followed," Terna declared, before sitting down once again on the Egyptian throne as the two humans didn't' seem openly hostile, but she kept a pointed eye on them all the same.

"What are you doing here?" Susan demanded of her teachers.

"Where are we?" the woman called Barbara replied.

"That ridiculous school," the Doctor grumbled. "I knew something like this would happen."

"I-Is this where you live, Susan?" Barbara stammered.

"Yes," Susan replied quietly.

"And what's wrong with it?" the Doctor demanded defensively.

"But it was just a telephone box," the man whispered, his voice trailing off.

"Oh, so that's what this thing is," Terna exclaimed.

Barbara whirled to face her. "Who are you? Are you Susan's grandmother?"

Terna's expression contorted into a look of boiling rage.

"How dare you!" she cried, leaping back to my feet.

"Terna, not now," the Doctor pointedly cut her off.

"But, this is your grandfather?" Barbara asked after the Doctor.

"Yes," Susan confirmed.

"Well, why didn't you tell us that?" Barbara asked him.

"I don't' make habit of discussing my private life with strangers," the Doctor replied dismissively.

"But it's just a police box," the man repeated, seeming unable to get over this fact. "I walked all 'round it. How is this possible?"

"You don't deserve any explanation. You pushed your way in here uninvited and unwelcome," the Doctor replied coldly, striding across the room and began keenly observing an antique birdcage. Terna watched him intently; he was awfully calm given the circumstances.

"Ian," Barbara gripped the man's coat. "I think we ought to go."

"Just a moment," Ian pushed Barbara from him and advanced towards the Doctor. "I know this is absurd, I walked all 'round it." Ian tried to talk to the Doctor but he seemed too focused on the birdcage.

"Oh dear, it would seem its finally starting to gather a bit of rust. I'll have to find some way to remedy that." He glanced up in apparent surprise to find Ian still standing there. "Hmm? Oh you wouldn't understand," the Doctor replied dismissively, striding distractedly back over to the console.

"But I want to understand!" Ian insisted.

"Yes, yes, yes." The Doctor was heavily ignoring them now as he took off his overcoat and hung it on a nearby coatrack. "By the way, Susan," he called to the young girl, "I managed to find a replacement for that one filament. It's not exact but it should do the job."

"Doctor, have you forgotten that there are a pair of humans standing in the middle of the TARDIS?" Terna demanded. The Doctor ignored her too.

"It's an illusion; it must be," Ian exclaimed to Barbara.

"Oh, what's he talking about now?" the Doctor inquired of Susan, only half paying attention as he fiddled with a few knobs.

"What you are you doing here?" Susan cried helplessly to her two teachers.

They weren't given time to respond as the Doctor abruptly straightened up. "You humans see something you don't understand then you make up some kind of excuse. Illusions indeed!" He turned back around to face Ian and Barbara. "You say that you can't fit an enormous building into one of your smaller sitting rooms?"

"No, of course not," Ian replied.

"But, you've discovered television, haven't you?" the Doctor offered.

"Uh, yes," Ian wavered.

"Then by displaying a large building on the screen, you can do what was originally thought to be impossible, couldn't you?"

"Well, yes," Ian relented, "but-"

"Oh, no, no, no. Not quite clear, is it?" the Doctor chided. "I can see by your face you're not certain. You don't understand." The Doctor laughed at this. "And I knew you wouldn't."

Terna rolled her eyes. "Time Lord," she called, getting to her feet.

"Terna, if you don't mind, I'm trying to have a scientific debate with this young man," the Doctor called to her.

"That's all fine and well, Time Lord," Terna affronted him, walking abrasively up to him with her hands on her hips. "However, what do you intend to do with them? They cannot return to their world knowing what they know, nor can they remain here. We are not keeping them as some kind of pet, if that's you intent."

"Of course not," the Doctor shot back before turning back to the two humans. "The point is not whether or not you understand, but what is going to happen to you. Terna is right, Susan," he said to the girl. "They'll tell everyone about the ship."

"Ship?" Ian asked.

"Yes, yes, ship," the Doctor sounded slightly exasperated at the relentless questions of the male human. "This doesn't roll along on wheels, you know."

"You mean, it moves?" Barbara cried.

"The TARDIS can go anywhere," Susan replied.

"TARDIS? I don't understand you, Susan."

"I made up the name TARDIS from the initials," Susan explained. "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space."

"One would think you'd be able to understand that once you saw the different dimensions outside form inside," Terna added.

"Let me get this straight," Ian still seemed to be struggling, which somewhat amused Terna. "A thing that looks like a police box, standing in the middle of a junkyard, it can move anywhere in time and space?"

"Yes," Susan replied.

"Quite so," the Doctor added.

"But that's impossible," Ian cried.

"Oh, why won't they believe us?" Susan demanded.

"Because they're thick" Terna replied dryly.

"How can we believe you?" Barbara demanded.

"Now, now, don't get exasperated, Susan," the Doctor consoled his granddaughter. "Remember, when the Native Americans first saw the great steam train, their savages minds thought it an illusion too."

"You're treating us like children," Ian snapped.

"You constant questions certainly alludes to children," Terna observed.

"Honestly, the children of my civilization would be insulted," the Doctor added.

"As would mine," Terna agreed for once with the Time Lord.

"Your civilization?" Ian cried.

"Yes, haven't you ever wondered what it's like to be wanderings in the fourth dimension?" the Doctor asked, "because, that's what we are. Exiles…" the Doctor trailed off.

"I tolerate this century and planet, but I don't like it," Terna added.

"Yes, Susan and I are cut off from our own planet, while Terna was left behind when her people fled this universe to space unknown."

"I hope to remedy that shortly."

"Yes, one day perhaps we'll all go home," the Doctor seemed thoughtful. "Yes, one day."

"It's true, every word of it," Susan insisted to her teachers. "You don't know what you've done coming here." She turned to the Doctor, grabbing his arm to forcefully turn him towards her. "Grandfather, let them go now. Please,"

"What? Are you mental?" Terna cried. "After what they've seen and been told?"

"Look, if they don't understand; they can't hurt us at all," Susan continued to plead with her grandfather, her voice growing thick. "I understand these people better than you; their minds reject things they don't understand."

The Doctor glanced at the Ian and Barbara, than to Susan, then back again. "No. Like this, we cannot let them go."

"Oh, but you must!" Susan cried.

"You can't just keep us here forever!" Barbara added and Ian started forward towards the Doctor, but Terna stepped between them, brandishing her glass.

"I can't very well set you loose on the world, either," the Doctor replied calmly, "but you are right, we can't just keep you in here either. You're bound to cause even more trouble for us." The Doctor paused; his expression ponderous.

"Wait, perhaps we could wipe their memories!" Susan suddenly cried.

"Do what?" Ian sounded horrified.

"And how would we manage that?" the Doctor demanded.

"Terna can do it," Susan replied. Terna glanced at her, startled. "The Lyall can do that, can't they?" she asked earnestly.

Terna's insides twisted. She honestly didn't know if she'd be capable of such a feat in her current state. She knew she possessed the skill and had used it before in her previous form, but now, like this. Would she be able to achieve it?

"Susan, that is an excellent idea," the Doctor commended. "Terna," he added, turning to her, "Why don't you go ahead with that and then we can be on our way."

Terna hesitated slightly, but her pride forced her hand. She grabbed the man called Ian and he immediately started wrestling in her grasp.

"Very well," she whispered.

"No, you can't!" Barbara wailed.

"Get your hands off me, woman!" Ian cried.

"Be still" Terna cried as Ian staggered back and slipped from her hand.

"Watch out, Mr. Chesterton!" Susan screamed as Ian tripped backward and fell across the TARDIS console, smashing heavily into the damaged workings the Doctor had been tinkering with.

"NO!" the Doctor cried, but it was too late. The console jumped to life with stunted and erratic flashes of light and sound, dozens of colored lights jumped around Ian and he screamed with a mixture of pain and alarm.

"Ian!" Barbara cried, rushing to pull him from the damaged console.

"What have you done?" the Doctor cried, attempting to go to the console but the TARDIS suddenly gave an abrupt lurch and shuttered violently, knocking him on his face. Susan and Barbara both screamed and Ian fell to the ground as the TARDIS knocked and tossed itself about the time stream like a boat caught in a storm. Terna reached for a nearby chair to steady herself but missed the handle and fell to the floor. The lights flickered on and off as the brightness of the TARDIS grew stronger. There was a harsh, whirling sound like the sound of broken propellers before everything was plunged into darkness and the time machine knocked around hastily and with great force, tossing its passengers about like a salad. Terna squeezed her eyes shut as the motion continued, alluding to an earthquake. There was a shrill, screeching sound like that of a tornado and it forced Terna to put her hands over her ears to stifle it even slightly. It came suddenly and it abruptly ceased. Terna slowly opened her eyes to see that the lights were flickering weakly back on and everyone was picking themselves up.

Terna slowly got to her feet, noting the Doctor and Susan's expressions of growing concern. She glanced towards the humans as Barbara attempted to help Ian to his feet.

The TARDIS was still and beyond it was no longer the hushed quiet of the city; a howling wind could be heard beating against the walls of the machine.

One thing was certain: they weren't in London anymore

Terna sucked in a sharp breath. "What have they done?" she whispered.

A/N: And now we have Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright on board. Where have they taken them? Stay tuned…


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I'm so sorry, I didn't update last week. I was simply too busy. Hope it's worth the wait…

Chapter 5: Fire

So, as if things couldn't possibly get any worse for me, I have now been abruptly flung to a random point in space and time, in a faulty time machine, all thanks to the blundering actions of two meddling humans. Great, just great

As I picked myself up from the TARDIS floor and tried to ignore the dull throbbing in the spot on my forehead that had collided with the floor when I toppled over, I glanced up to see the Doctor frantically fiddling with the disheveled TARDIS controls, brow knitted in worry and desperate concentration as he muttered to himself.

"Is everything alright, Grandfather?" Susan called from the darkness, for the only light was the weak flicker of the console that saw to only illuminate the Doctor and myself.

"Alright? Alright? Of course everything's not alright," the Doctor exclaimed in frustration. "I have absolutely no idea where or when we are."

"What do you mean you don't know where we are?!" I exclaimed, hauling myself to my feet. "Isn't that your job?"

"Well, yes, but in case you hadn't noticed the human broke the console," the Doctor snapped back, "and that wouldn't' have happened if you had wiped his memory properly."

"How is this my fault!" I cried, stamping my foot in frustration. "I wasn't the one who tripped into the device; you have the undexterous human to blame for that. I can't help that I require physical contact to tamper with a being's mind."

"Then maybe you Lyall aren't as powerful as you think."

"I'll have you know, Time Lord-"

"Would you two stop arguing for five minutes?" Susan exclaimed in exasperation. "The humans are coming to."

"Oh, are they?" the Doctor asked, without turning around as he flicked a switch and the TARDIS lights fizzled back on, although considerably paler and weaker than before. The two humans were both groggily sitting up from some kind of inter-dimensional -induced unconsciousness. As the lights slowly but surely came back on, I was able to get a proper look at the two of them. The woman named Barbara, who was sprawled across the Egyptian throne, had clear, clean features, dark, vibrant eyes, and black hair that puffed up from her head in a very odd fashion. The man called Ian, who was lying on his face beside the chair, was lighter haired and eyed with a kind of average handsomeness about him. He sat up with a groan, curtly massaging a growing bruise on the back of his skull.

"Ian, are you alright?" Barbara asked, getting up from the throne and hurrying over to his side.

"Yes, I think so," Ian replied slowly.

"For the moment," I muttered to myself.

"The movement's stopped," Ian observed.

"Yes, we seemed to have landed," the Doctor mused as he fiddled with a certain knob. There was a dull static noise and a kind of screen suspended from the ceiling in the corner of the bridge suddenly jumped to life. A dismal scene was displayed upon it; the image of a lonely, desolate desert covered in pale white sand and thorny bushes; a wind howled across the landscape and buffeted against the sides of the TARDIS as though it wanted to get in to escape the cold it had created.

"Sand and rock formations that are categorized in a unique climate and era. Good, we are still on Earth at least," the Doctor mused.

"All systems are stabilized now, Grandfather," Susan reported from the other end of the monitor.

"Now it's just a matter of finding out when we are," I stated, crossing my arms.

"Yes, yes, momentarily," the Doctor replied, stooping slightly so his weak eyes could peer at a small reading screen. "Zero? Well, that's not right," he exclaimed. "It would seem this era of Earth's time is not being calculated properly."

"Or it's simply before they kept a reading of that sort of thing," I offered.

"You mean, 'B.C.'?" Susan asked.

"Look outside, it speaks for itself," I replied, gesturing to the screen.

"Well, at any rate, the TARDIS seems to have stabilized at least," the Doctor declared before turning around and finally noticing Ian and Barbara still on the floor. "What are you doing down there?" he asked of them.

"What have you done?" Barbara demanded.

"Barbara, you can't possibly believe this nonsense?" Ian exclaimed.

"Look at the scanner screen," Susan insisted.

"Yes indeed," the Doctor agreed, "We are definitely somewhere and that somewhere is not London in your era, young man."

At this, both Ian and Barbara scrambled to their feet and hurried over to get a better look at the view screen.

"There, see? A new world for you," the Doctor gestured grandly.

"Sand and rock." Ian seemed unimpressed.

"That's the immediate view anyways," the Doctor replied.

"But where are we?" Barbara demanded.

"You mean that's what we'll see when we go outside?" Ian exclaimed, pointing at the screen.

"Yes," Susan replied.

"I don't believe it!" Ian cried.

"You really are a stubborn young man," the Doctor observed.

"Then give me some proof, some concrete evidence," Ian exclaimed.

"Just like a human," I rolled my eyes, "too dense to see what's right under their noses."

"You think I'm a charlatan, do you?" the Doctor chided as he casually strolled around the console.

"Just open the doors, Dr. Foreman," Ian cried.

the Doctor paused. "Dr. Who?" he asked "Foreman is the name of the junkyard we were in, not my name, you moron."

"Semantics, Time Lord," I chimed in. "And if you are going to open the doors, might I suggest you clarify that we'll be able to breath once we do venture outside?"

"Oh, yes, that is a good point," the Doctor admitted, moving back over to the console as I threw up my hands in exasperation. "Well, the air is reading normally," the Doctor announced, after a brief glance at the monitor. "Good. Yes, very good. What's the radiation reading, Susan?" he asked his granddaughter.

"It's reading normal, Grandfather," the girl replied.

"Good. Now, you still challenge me, young man?" the Doctor asked Ian.

"If you would just open the doors, you can prove your point," Ian insisted.

"You're so narrow-minded, aren't you?" the Doctor smiled smugly. "Well, allow me to broaden it a little, we are back in time after all."

"That's utterly ridiculous," Ian insisted. "Time doesn't go 'round and 'round in circles. You can't get on and off whenever you like."

"Oh really," the Doctor smirked coyly, "then where does it go?"

"Everything in the universe is interchangeable, human," I said to Ian. "All of space and time is interwoven and can all be rooted back to the same beginning and the same ending. Therefore, it is indeed possible to move through different factions of it, as simply as moving down a different branch of a tree."

"A good analogy, Terna," the Doctor commended. "Not the one I would have used, but a good one all the same. Now then, if I opened the doors, would that satisfy you?" the Doctor asked Ian.

"Yes," Ian replied.

"Very well then," the Doctor pulled the lever and the doors to the TARDIS slowly swung open with the same mechanical buzz. As they parted, the view identical to that on the screen grew wider and wider. A desolate desert scene that stretched out across the horizon and vanished into the light of a fresh and relatively new sun, hanging suspended in the cloudless sky.

Ian's jaw went slack. "It's not possible," he whispered.

"I have no more time to argue with you," the Doctor declared, grabbing his scarf and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" I demanded.

"Out to explore, of course," the Doctor replied. "This is an opportunity I so rarely pass up."

"Shouldn't you stay here and finish repairing the TARDIS so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again?"

"Oh, we'll have plenty of time for that later," the Doctor replied, waving his hand dismissively. "Now, grab your coat, Susan, and you two are free to come along as well, if you like," he added to Ian and Barbara.

"You don't know what's out there, Doctor," I reminded him, sitting back down in the Egyptian throne.

"That's precisely why I wish to venture out and see for myself," the Doctor asserted, taking his coat from the rack and throwing it over his shoulders, "and since the TARDIS wont' tell me the exact date in which we've landed, I wish to gather a few rock samples and make an estimate."

"Fine, you can go rock hunting, I'll stay here," I declared, promptly crossing my legs for emphasis.

"You don't want to come?" Susan asked.

"No," I replied curtly. "Thank you, but I have no interest in aimlessly wandering about an empty desert and ruining my nice shoes."

The Doctor shrugged. "Fine with me; sit here and sulk then. Also, you might as well make yourself useful, and guard the TARDIS while we're gone."

"Who would steal the TARDIS?" I demanded, but the Doctor didn't listen as he stepped through the TARDIS doors and out into the desert, the others filing out after him. "Ugh, whatever," I slumped against the back of the throne and looped my elbows around the armrests. The back of my hand brushed against something large and covered in coarse, brown fur.

I shrieked and propelled myself off the chair so fast it toppled backward and fell to the ground.

"Terna, what is it?" the Doctor demanded as I scrambled over to the TARDIS threshold, breathing heavily. From behind me, something scuttled across the floor.

"Why, it's a spider!" Susan exclaimed as the bloated arachnid paused by my foot. I staggered back with another scream.

"Get a hold of yourself, woman," the Doctor snapped at me. "It's just a common, brown spider."

"Common? Common! That is not common. It's the size of a dinner plate!" I cried.

"Well, that's to be expected. We are in the distant past after all, and lots of animals were a lot bigger back then then they are now," Susan stated brightly.

"But how did it get in the TARDIS?" I asked.

"It must have crawled in when we opened the door," Ian offered.

"Yes, it would seem we parked right next to a nest of them," the Doctor mused.

"You mean there's more?" Barbara cried, an edge to her voice.

"Around the TARDIS anyway," the Doctor replied simply.

My stomach twisted. More spiders? Dozens of those icky, hairy, bugs were crawling in and around the TARDIS in knotted swarms as I spoke. I took a forced breath. "You know, on second thought, I could use a little exercise." I quickly snatched a white fur coat from the coatrack before briskly walking past the Doctor and Susan, who watched me go with a look of confusion.

"It would seem even Lyalls have a weakness," the Doctor whispered to her.

"I heard that, Time Lord," I called over my shoulder, "and it is perfectly natural and healthy to have an aversion for insects and other crawly things," I cringed again at the thought.

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

As I exited the TARDIS, the doors slowly slid shut behind me. Ian and Barbara stood as still and silent as statues, gazing around with wide eyes filled with childlike wonder. Ian stumbled slightly, seeming dazed where he stood.

"Here. Lean on me," Susan offered.

"No, I'm alright," Ian asserted, rubbing his brow. "I'm alright now. Thanks."

Susan smiled warmly as I tugged my coat tighter around myself. Curse this humanoid skin. It made everything so cold.

Ian gazed around the lonely scape; the silence interrupted only briefly by the sound of a distant bird cry echoing across the desert. "This can't really be happening. There must be some explanation," he whispered.

Barbara just silently shook her head in awe. The Doctor, on the other hand, was staring intently at the TARDIS.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"It's still a police box," the Doctor exclaimed, pointing to the time machine. Looking at it properly, I saw that this was in fact true. The TARDIS was still the same wooden phone box painted deep blue that it had been in the London junkyard. "Dear, dear, how very disturbing," the Doctor muttered more to himself than me as he turned from his machine and headed off down the slope of a small hill the TARDIS was resting on. The ground was loose and broke away under him so that he nearly lost his balance. Susan skipped down the opposite side of the hill, closely followed by the two humans as they followed her like a pair lost children.

"Why is it such a problem if the TARDIS is still a police box?" I inquired of the Doctor, skidding down the rise after him; my sandaled feet were sleek and uneven across the soft ground.

"That means the chameleon factor has been damaged," the Doctor explained distractedly as he trooped along the crevices that splintered throughout the frigid earth, searching intently for what I didn't know. "The chameleon factor?" I asked, watching him as he bent to keenly observe a part of the ground, running his fingers across the soil as though searching for some small increment in particular.

"Yes, yes, the part of the TARDIS that disguises it. A cloaking device if you will. It protects the TARDIS by allowing it to blend in, and it's supposed to change with every new location."

"But it hasn't," I glanced over my shoulder at the lonely little police box, half sunken into the loose dirt at the top of the hill.

"It's been damaged as well, most likely," the Doctor deduced, selecting a rock the size of his fist and bending closer to examine it. "It would seem the TARDIS has been affected in more ways than I had previously anticipated. This could become a problem for us."

"Need I remind you, Time Lord, there's a nice, juicy instruction manual sitting in a comfy armchair in the library. I know; I saw it there," I exclaimed.

"I am not reading that tripe," the Doctor snapped defensively.

"And why not?" I demanded, "It's a perfectly obvious solution. I thought you Time Lords were supposed to be logical."

"We are, I just don't agree with the manual. What does it really know about the TARDIS? God, this ground is freezing," the Doctor hissed through gritted teeth as he jammed his hands into the pockets of his coat.

"Kind of backwards, ain't it?" I observed. "After all, we're in a desert."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Terna," the Doctor sounded exasperated as he quickly gathered up a half-dozen rocks and stuffed them into a bag. "But established tertiary conditions on a particular planet are known to change over time. We are in the distance past, after all. That much I know. I can't make much of these rocks from outward appearance, going to have to bring them back to the TARDIS to make a proper analysis."

"I thought someone like you would have gotten glasses by now," I whispered, absentmindedly slipping my own hands into the pockets of my dress. My left hand closed around the handle of my magnifying glass.

"Here, have a glass. This ought to help."

"So eager to help all of the sudden, Terna?" the Doctor asked, accepting the glass with a smirk.

I scowled, but it momentarily softened into an indifferent shrug. "I have nothing better to do."

The Doctor nodded as he bent back over the rock in his hand and held the glass between it and his eye, squinting at it intently. I watched with vague interest until something flashed in the corner of my vision. I, at first, passed it off as a flash of sunlight but the whiff of light flickered again and I saw it for what it was. Blue, a kind of blue fire trailing thinly along the rim of the magnifying glass. My heart stood still. No, it couldn't be.

"Give this back," I cried, snatching the glass from the Doctor's hand.

"Excuse me, I was using that," the Doctor asserted, but I ignored him. As I stared at the magnifying glass, the speck of blue in the corner steadily broadened, like the light of a fire slowly spreading as it consumed up the wood it soaked energy from. And that's what this was: energy. Trailing up from the glass in flashes of blue fire; it matched my eyes.

"Psychic Amina," I breathed. My eyes widened as the image of the ground that was encased in the magnifying glass shimmered slightly and then unfolded, thinning into multiple levels, layers upon layers of a single image all laced on top of each other. I could hardly believe it as I watched the Amina in the glass show me the different layers of the ground.

"How is this possible?" I whispered, "The eye of the Lyall trapped within a common glass. My eye…" My voice trailed off as I leaned forward to drink in the sight of the glass, gently move it back and forth across the ground before me. "I can see it…" I exclaimed, "I can see all that is there before me." My face broke into a grin as I moved it towards the Doctor and suddenly he was all spelled out in a neat little row. Humanoid in shape and size with rapid blood flow caused by the signature two hearts of the Time Lords and eyes that were young despite being encased in an aged head.

"So you have your powers back, Lyall?" the Doctor inquired knowingly. I didn't respond. The layers here…The glass slid from my hand and fell to the ground with a dull 'thunk'. But I no longer needed it as I gazed skyward. Spread out all around me, in every pore of this planet…I could see it now. Psychic Amina filled this place to the brim, like blood filling a heart it pumped energy and life throughout the barren world, cycling it through a constant energy struggle between birth and death, creation and destruction. I spread my arms wide as my wayward Amina clung to my body like morning dew and entered my skin through the veins of my flesh. I closed my eyes as the heat filled my cold, barren body. I could feel it pulsing inside me as though I suddenly had two hearts as well. The energy strained against my skin, begging to escape and be released. For a brief moment, I wanted to blow my skin to shreds and sore off into the celestial scape for parts unknown. But I couldn't' do that, without a body, in this world I would survive. Instead, I gently and neatly folded the Psychic Amina up inside the core of my skin. When I opened my eyes, the Doctor was watching me with a look of barely suppressed awe. I smiled triumphantly as I stooped down to pick up the fallen magnifying glass. With barely any effort, I feathered my Psychic Amina down the shaft of the object and consumed the glass once again in the ancient blue fire.

"I don't understand this," I replied, turning the glass skyward. "My Force Amina remained within my core within the Heart of the TARDIS but my Psychic Amina is spread out all over this place. How is that? I've never been here before."

"But you have now," the Doctor replied. "You've been here and there and everywhere."

I stared at him. "What are you on about?"

"Think about it, Terna. You are trapped within the TARDIS, your core essence infused with the Heart. You are a part of the TARDIS, a staggering concept to be certain. However, as the TARDIS can exist everywhere at once, now, so do you."

I stared at the Doctor, eyes wide. "Everywhere?" I breathed.

"Your Psychic Amina seems to have spread out throughout the time stream," the Doctor replied.

"Is there any way to pull it back to me?" I demanded, waving my hand in front of my face.

"Doubtful, until you are removed from the TARDIS that is."

"All the more reason," I whispered flexing my fingers and enjoying the pleasant surge of power rush up my arms. "Seems I can still call it to me temporarily," I breathed.

"Feeling better, Terna?" the Doctor inquired as I genuflected beside him and held the glass in front of the ground. Ignoring him, I studied the layers beneath the surface.

"No wonder it's so cold," I murmured. "It would seem, judging from this thick layer of permafrost, that this planet is coming out of some kind of primitive ice age."

"Ice age?" the Doctor cried. "Well, if that's the case, it would seem dear old Ian has sent us back to a time when earth was a new, bright jewel freshly painted across the surface of its lonely little solar system."

"Poetic language aside," I continued, straightening up. "I would have to conclude, judging from the topography of the planet that we are somewhere around the 10,000 B.C. mark.

"Oh really?' the Doctor snorted. "You can tell all that just by bathing your surroundings in a pretty blue light."

"It's not 'light, Time Lord, it's Amina," I asserted. "Psychic Amina to be precise, the Amina of the Lyall's energy that gives them their power."

"As opposed to…?"

"Force Amina which is the life force of the Lyall. All of mine's trapped in the TARDIS," I replied simply.

"Well, fantastical elements aside," the Doctor got to his feet as well. "I frankly cannot take your word for it. I'm a man of science, Terna, not magic."

"And yet you won't read the TARDIS instruction manual?" I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in exasperation.

"Stop not making sense, Terna," the Doctor chided, wiggling a finger in my face before hoisting his bag over his shoulder and fishing around in his pocket until he pulled out a pipe. As he lit it, I turned away and fanned out my fingers and spread the Amina out between them, watching the iridescent shades of vibrant blue dance about in the weak light.

"Care for a puff of my pipe, Terna?" the Doctor inquired. "It'll warm you up."

"I think I'm alright," I replied, feeling the heat of my Psychic Amina flow all throughout my body.

"Suit yourself," the Doctor replied, blowing a trail of thin white smoke out from between his pursed lips.

A flicker of movement in the corner of my vision, and I caught a glimpse of something large and furry. A scream rose up in my throat, expecting another spider. The Doctor whipped around too slow as the thing lunged at us from behind. I was struck brutally in the back of the skull and my body went stiff as hundreds of pins and needles rushed up and down my limbs. The scream escaped my lips as a feeble gasp and I fell like a stone.

I awoke to voices; voices that were garbled and confused as they squabbled amongst themselves in a slow, strangled speech uttered from the tongue of creatures not yet in their prime. I tried to open my eyes, but they felt heavy like lead, and there was a blunt pounding in my head that only increased with the murmuring noise of the voices. I felt dizzy and faint, my body swaying side to side. I tried to move but found I couldn't for something was holding me back. Suddenly, my body was thrust down onto a hard, cold surface. I fought blindly and weakly, but my mind was still dazed and confused. I could feel binds being tightened around my arms and legs and I tried to fight against them, but my Skin was weak and these creatures were strong. When they finally stepped away from me, I had the strength to open my eyes. Cautiously, I cracked an eyelid and saw that there were dark figures gathered all around me. I opened my eyes only to the amount that was absolutely necessary so that they still appeared closed and observed my surroundings through my eyelashes. I was lying on my back on a stone altar in the middle of a cave, surrounded by humans. But they were not humans like Ian and Barbara; these humans were dirty, ratty, and savage. Their hair was filthy, their clothes made of other animal's skins; they wore no shoes and their eyes were large and dumb in their skulls. They all watched me intently, men, women, and children with those same thoughtless eyes.

"These are strange creatures," one of them spoke and my head turned ever so slightly to my left to see a man with short, brown hair that clung choppy and uneven to his scalp and a scruffy beard dotting his chin.

"Is Za, son of the fire maker afraid of an old man and a woman?" a second man taunted. To my right, there was another man; a dark man clothed in more furs than anyone else present with black hair and beard and eyes that were deeply set in the back of his skull, so that you had to look twice to see what they were truly conveying.

"I am not afraid," the first man called Za replied.

"When will Za make fire from his hands?" the second man demanded.

"When the great Orb in the sky presides it," Za started, but the other man cut him off.

"Orb is for strong men; Orb has brought me these creatures. They make fire come from their fingers. I have seen it!" the man gestured to the people gathered around him and Za, all of them hanging on to every word he said. "The woman made fire of many colors come from her fingers and the man's body is full of fire; the smoke came out through his mouth."

Did this savage mean the Time Lord's pipe?

"Lies come out of your mouth, Kal," Za said to the dark-eyed man. I quickly snapped my eyes shut as he bent down over the Doctor and me, gazing at us intently. "They wear strange skins," he murmured.

"Za is afraid!" Kal cried. "Za is not a true leader. He cannot make fire like his father. The fire maker is dead and now all of you carry dry sticks." A murmur rose up from the crowd. "I, Kal, am a true leader," Kal continued. "I have slayed many bears and tigers with my strength and made skins for you all. Now I take these creatures to you while they slept and soon they shall make fire for you all! Will you sit by and die in the cold like my people did before I found you while you wait for Za to make fire."

"Silence!" Za thundered, waving his club in Kal's face. "You simply want to be leader when that right is mine!"

"You, Za, have many warm skins," a third man with blonde curls around his head and face stepped from the crowd and addressed Za. "You have forgotten what the cold is like."

Za looked flustered. "Tomorrow I shall slay many bears and you will all have warm skins."

"No, tomorrow you will put your hands together and make fire," the blonde man asserted.

"No, Za will simply put his hands together and wait for Orb to bring fire, but fire will not come," Kal asserted. "If a tiger comes into our cave in the night, Za will give you to the tiger. Za will give you to the cold," he addressed the crowd now. "My creatures can make fire come from their fingers. I have seen it and I brought them here

"They are just an old man and woman in strange skins," Za continued to protest.

"There is a strange tree and these creatures came out of it. I have seen it!" Kal cried.

How long was he watching us? It didn't matter. All this talk of fire was making me increasingly uneasy. I was certain that these creatures were either going to kill us or roast us for dinner.

"Enough of this," I whispered. Without warning, I kicked my legs up. A unified cry rose up from the

crowd and Za and Kal jumped back from the altar in shock as I flipped backward off the altar. Righting myself, I barely stood upright before I staggered down to the ground for my legs were bound at the ankles.

"The creature awakes!" Kal cried.

"Kill it!" Za replied, producing a crude knife chiseled from a sharp rock from the folds of his furs and lunging towards me. I held up my bound arms and Za sliced clean through the ropes with his knife. The pieces rippled out around me as I pivoted my body and jammed my elbow into Za's chest. He gasped in a mixture of shock and pain, staggering back. I dropped to my knees and fumbled helplessly with the ropes that still bound my feet. But I didn't have enough time; Za rushed forward and knocked me back into the wall. The butt-end of his knife connected with the side of my head and explosions of bright pain lit up in front of my eyes as I slumped against the cave wall.

"Stop it! Leave her alone." The Doctor had awoken and rushed up to Za, or hopped rather as he was still bound at the ankles. "Please you have no need to fear me. I am an old man," he insisted. "Let us go, and we will make all the fire you want." He turned to address the crowd now.

"See, Kal's creatures can make fire!" Kal declared.

"The creatures will make fire for me. I am fire maker," Za asserted, neatly slicing the Doctor's binds from his wrists and ankles and stepping away from me. I staggered to me feet; it took a few minutes because the room wouldn't stop spinning.

"Terna, are you-" the Doctor made a move towards me, but Za held him back. "Make fire," he ordered. "Kal's creature: he makes fire only for Kal," Kal declared proudly.

"I am the fire maker; the creatures shall make fire for me," Za asserted.

The Doctor nodded, fishing around in his pockets. His face fell.

"Matches, I must have dropped them," he whispered.

I pursed my lips. Not good. The Doctor spun around to meet the crowd. "Take me to my ship and I will make all the fire you want!" he cried.

"This is one of your lies," Za said to Kal. "These creatures cannot make fire."

"No, I saw it," Kal cried. "There was a strange tree and the creatures came out of it. Then fire came out of the woman's fingers." He whirled around to face me. "Come, make fire," he exclaimed, shaking me roughly. "Make fire come out of your fingers."

"I can't. It's not fire, you imbecile." I tried to explain, but Kal would not listen. He didn't understand. How could he?

"Make fire!" Kal screamed at me.

"You are trapped in your own lies, Kal," a woman with tangled, red-brown hair called to him from the front of the crowd.

Kal rushed to the Doctor and grabbed his hands. "Make fire. Make fire come from your fingers as I saw you do before."

"I have no matches," the Doctor asserted. "I cannot make fire."

"Let the old man die," Za declared. "Let them both die."

"Leave the old man alone; he cannot make fire," I ordered.

"Then you make fire instead," Kal was desperate now. "You make fire or I kill this man," he pulled a knife from his belt and pressed it to the startled Doctor's throat.

"I cannot make fire for you," I insisted.

"I saw it. It came from your hands in many colors," Kal replied.

"That's not fire; I have told you that before, you simple fool!" I cried. "What I have will not warm you; it will not give you food. It is a poison fire. You see, I have nothing but a poison fire."

"Make fire or the old man dies," Kal repeated. The Doctor stiffened in his grasp as Kal's knife grazed against his neck.

I froze as I felt my stomach tighten at the sight of the trickle of blood trailing from the thin wound in the Doctor's throat. "No. Do not harm him. It will serve you no good," I whispered.

"I will kill him," Kal cried and from the look in his dark eyes I knew he was serious. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't give them my Psychic Amina. If I did, they would see it wouldn't help them, and they would kill us. However, if I didn't then the Doctor would die. I couldn't let that happen. He was my only way out of here. My mind raced, but at that moment:

"Grandfather!" Susan screeched as she launched herself on top of Kal and started riding him like very violent piggy-back, beating him furiously in the head as he staggered about, clumsily trying to pull her off. The Doctor gasped as Kal released him; the knife slipping in his grasp and cutting him dangerously deeper.

Barbara rushed to help him while Ian went to assist Susan. Kal managed to pull the young girl off him. Another caveman grabbed me from behind and in my weakened state, I could do nothing. I screamed in frustration as Za shoved Ian to the ground and raised his tomahawk threateningly over the young man's head.

"Stop!" the Doctor commanded. "If he dies, there shall be no fire."

Za hesitated before slowly lowering his club and releasing Ian over to another man.

Kal, meanwhile, slowly walked over to Barbara. She shrunk back, repulsed, as he tried to touch her face.

"Kill her!" an old woman called from the back of the crowd.

Kal made a move to redraw his knife, but Za rushed to him and held him back. "No!"

"We will not kill our enemies?" Kal demanded in a mixture of surprise and disgust.

"We shall wait until Orb reappears in the sky, then they shall die," Za replied.

With a grunt, he released Kal. Kal's grip tightened on his knife, looking as though he wanted to stab Za with it. Za remained firm, however, and Kal backed down.

Za turned to the other men holding me and the others. "Take them to the Cave of Skulls."

Susan and Barbara both shrieked as they were hoisted over the men's shoulders and hauled down towards the back of the cave. I was carried along with them and the Doctor dragged as well. I could see the blood from the knife wound staining the collar of his shirt. He was weak and could barely walk.

"Grandfather! Grandfather!" Susan wailed helplessly as the men carrying us came to a stone the size of a sofa embedded loosely in the rock. It took all five of them to move it aside and reveal a circular hole in the ground. A foul smell blasted itself out of the hole and scattered about the air in a furious frenzy as though wishing to escape confinement and further spread its influence. My stomach turned; the smell was the horrible odor of decay and rot. The scent of death capped neatly inside the cave as though by a bottle. I squirmed helplessly in the man's grasp, but he was too strong and he tossed me into the cave along with the others. I hit the sand bed ground and almost had the wind knocked from my lungs. The Cave of Skulls was aptly named. It was a crowded space covered from floor to ceiling in hundreds of decorated human skulls. Crooked candles cast uneven shadows across the sharp, jagged walls. The ceiling was low and oppressive above my head; the sand rough like sandpaper under my fingers.

"Grandfather!" Susan sat up and rushed over to the Doctor. He was lying on his back where the caveman had thrown him, and there was still a lot of blood from the knife wound. "Grandfather, wake up! Oh my God." Susan clapped a hand to her mouth and sobbed. Ian and Barbara gathered around her.

"What are we going to do, Ian?" Barbara whispered.

"I don't know," Ian replied, his voice small.

The Doctor made a strangled choking sound. "Grandfather," Susan leaned in closer as the Doctor's eyelids fluttered. "Oh, Grandfather, don't die. Please don't die."

"He's not going to die," I reassured her, getting to my feet. "The wound's not deep."

"He's losing a lot of blood though," Ian observed.

"Stand back, everyone. I'm going to try something," I declared, flexing my fingers and allowing Psychic Amina to thread between them.

"What is that? What are you doing?" Susan demanded.

"Hopefully, something that will help your grandfather," I replied simply. "If I can connect my Psychic Amina to his life force, I might be able to redirect his cells back to a healed state."

"You mean you can fix him?" Barbara cried.

"Possibly."

"Go on then, do it," Susan exclaimed.

"Right," I gritted my teeth. One way or another, this was going to be tricky. Slowly, I placed my finger across the Doctor's bloody throat. I allowed the Amina to flow through the wound and was instantly bombarded with thousands upon thousands of tiny increments, little threads that all wove together to create the Doctor's life force, the energy that powered him on a molecular level. It didn't take me long to hone in on the damaged bits. It was a delicate procedure and I nearly bit my tongue in half with concentration. A living being's Amina was not so easily altered. It felt like an eternity was spent sewing him back together, but I eventually managed to stich him up again. With a gasp of exhaustion, I fell back from the Doctor as he opened his eyes and sat up, feeling his now clean and uninjured neck in astonishment.

"Grandfather!" Susan cried, throwing her arms around the Doctor's shoulders. "You did it," she added to me.

"It worked," I whispered, not really listening. "It actually worked."

"This is unbelievable," Ian whispered to Barbara. "She healed the man with the touch of her finger."

"It's a lot more complicated than that I assure you," I replied.

"Terna," I glanced towards the Doctor, surprised. "You saved me. Thank you."

"Well, I couldn't just go and let you die, now could I?" I shot back. "You're my only ticket out of here after all."

"Perhaps out of this time, but not out of this place," Ian asserted. "We need to find a way out of this cave if we ever want to reach the TARDIS."

"Right, well stand back and allow me to amaze you once again," I announced, getting to my feet. I turned towards the back wall of the Cave of Skulls and placed my hand upon it. I closed my eyes and allowed the Amina to flow from my hand and consume the rock before me. Instantly I was bombarded with a tightly woven net in which no space bled through, so dense was the stone that there was no way to unknot it and pull the threads apart. I broke from the wall with a gasp of frustration.

"It's not working, is it?" the Doctor asked.

"Manipulating a solid on a molecular level is extremely difficult," I explained through gritted teeth. "It's not like a living being where all you do is speed up the body's healing mechanism. To unthread the ore of a planet requires exceptional skill which I do not possess in this form." I smashed my fist against the stone with a cry of frustration. "And I thought I'd have us out of here! Stutlus stupri petram!*" I cursed in my native tongue.

"Terna, language, please," the Doctor called to me. "We must keep our wits about us," he added to the others. "It's our advantage against these humans of earlier times."

"But what are we to do?" Ian demanded. "How are we going to get out of here?"

"Frankly, I don't know, Ian," the Doctor replied, shaking his head in dismay. "But we must think of something and fast."

Hours passed, alone in the dark surrounded by stone walls. While the others whispered amongst themselves in the center of the cave clothed in a thin fuzzy layer of waning candlelight, I remained by the entrance that was corked shut by the immense boulder. My back was pressed against the crack and i leaned my head against the sliver of fresh air that was not tainted with the scent of death and confinement. The fraction of coolness against my check told me that night had fallen long ago. I strained for further air, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. Out. I need to get out of here before I go mad!

"Terna, calm down," the Doctor called over to me.

"Calm? I am perfectly calm, Time Lord," I asserted although my breaths came in short gasps as I spoke.

"No, you're not; you're hyperventilating," the Doctor asserted, getting to his feet and moving towards me.

"Out," I hissed, shaking my head vigorously as I staggered to my feet. "I need to get out of here right now."

"Terna, look at me," the Doctor placed his hand on my shoulder. "We're going to get out of here, I promise."

I shook him off. "Do not make promises you can't keep. We've been in here for hours, and you lot haven't come up with even an inkling of a plan."

"What do you suggest?" The Doctor inquired.

"What I suggest? What_ I_ suggest?!" I cried. "What I suggested was that we never leave the TARDIS in the first place. But did anybody listen to me? No! They just trooped along with you, Time Lord, on one of your air-headed escapades."

"So, this is all my fault?!" the Doctor cried, "or need I remind you that if you hadn't crashed into the TARDIS and made the system faulty, we wouldn't have left 1963 in the first place?"

"And this all just goes back to the fact that you can't drive a Time Machine to save your life. Just like a Time Lord, always going 'round in circles."

"At least we don't just drift like old fossils at the beginning of time like you Lyall," the Doctor shot back. "There isn't enough dust in the entire universe to cover those withered bones of yours."

"Both of you stop!" Ian cried as I opened my mouth to respond. "This bickering will get us nowhere."

The Doctor and I both looked slightly sheepish. "Now, Terna, why are you hanging about by the door?" Ian asked me.

"Because there's a draft over here and I need a spot of fresh air," I replied, gesturing to the crack between the boulder and the edge of the cave.

"So, you can feel the draft?" Ian reaffirmed. "And I can feel one two, over here on the other side of the cave."

"I can feel it too," Barbara added.

"Which means there's a back door!" Ian exclaimed, glancing around. "Perhaps, hidden somewhere. The question is: where?" He got to his feet and began moving about the cave.

"Don't count on it," the Doctor called to him. "It might just be a crack in the wall."

"Any hope is better than none!" Ian cried, whirling to face him. "Why don't you try and help us find it instead of standing there bickering with your girlfriend and criticizing us?"

"Oh you're hilarious, human," I exclaimed, far too worked up over our imprisonment to get properly angry about the 'girlfriend' remark. "However, you might be on to something and I want out of this cave as soon as possible." I walked up to the nearest wall and observed it intently. "This is a prison after all, and most prisons have a back door."

"That may be, but why would they put it in our reach?" the Doctor demanded.

"Do you want out of here or don't you, Time Lord?" I shot back.

At that moment, the rocks broke away behind me and a waterfall of dirt spilled down into the cave. I felt a blast of night air and a face, haggard and aged with messy air and a mouth swollen with rotten teeth, leered out at us through the gap in the prison wall. I shrieked in spite of myself and staggered back into the Doctor, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"You will not make fire," the face declared. I recognized her to be the old woman that had advised Kal to kill us back in the main cave.

"You. What do you want with us?" the Doctor demanded.

"Wants us dead is what she wants," I replied. "I heard her order Kal to kill us."

"There was a leader before fire and there shall be a leader after fire," the old woman continued. "I will let you go if you promise not to leave this place and not make fire."

We all exchanged a glance. "It's a deal," Ian declared.

"Just free us from this place," Barbara added.

"Very well," the woman moved aside to show an opening that lead out to the back end of the Fire People's cave. Beyond us was a dense wall of thick woods, the trees stood like opposing soldiers on all sides of us with no freezing desert or lonely time machine in sight. But what choice did we have? Quickly, we all climbed out of the whole: me first, then Susan and Barbara, then Ian, and finally the Doctor bringing up the rear. The old woman watched us go as we alighted on the ground and then took off running into the woods, no destination in particular in mind save getting out of sight. The trees provided good cover. Although the paling sky showed an imminent dawn, the shadow of the trees still provided concealment. At the bottom of the slope that the cave rested on there was a thin, man-made path cutting a rivet through the woods that unfolded out around us like a dark curtain. We clung to the path as though our lives depended on it and took off running.

The forest was thick and untamed. The branches and brambles leapt out of the darkness to pull at our hair and tug at our clothes as though attempting to grab us and pull us back into the shadows of the night. We were forced to frantically slash and tear the foliage aside. The path we were on was thin and fading in and out so there were terrifying moments when we lost it entirely in the middle of a crowded patch and had to search feverously until we found it again. There were other times when something would impede one of us from moving forward and they would be lost from the group until their cries lured us back to them. The Doctor lagged behind a few times as we ran, constantly stumbling around in the rear as though half blind.

"Stop!" he cried after what felt like hours of senseless running. "Please, just let me catch my breath." He leaned against a tree, gasping heavily.

"We can't stop now," Ian insisted.

"He just had his throat slit, human," I reminded him. "He is most likely weary. However, you do remind us that we cannot remain here long. We are completely exposed."

"The Fire People didn't see us escape," Barbara asserted, "and they will not see us in this dense wood."

"It's not the Fire People I'm worried about," I replied. As though on cue, an ear-piercing shriek suddenly ripped through the cover of night and exposed a flash of terror to us all before the darkness swallowed it up again, leaving only eerie silence in its wake.

Susan gasped and clung to my arm. "That's what we should be worried about," I confirmed.

"We must keep moving," Ian insisted to the Doctor."

"Yes, I know, I know," the Doctor replied, his voice thick. "Just let me breath."

"I shall have to carry you," Ian muttered.

"I'm not senile!" the Doctor cried.

"Here, Grandfather," Susan went over to him and helped him off the tree he was leaning against. She led him along and we took off running again.

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Barbara called to Ian, who led the procession.

"Yes, I think so," Ian called back.

"I-I can't remember," Barbara sounded weak. "I just can't remember." She stopped her running short and I almost smashed into her as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

"We're free, Barbara, we're free," Ian tried to console her, putting his arm around her and leading her alone.

"Yes, yes," Barbara whispered. There was another howl and we all stopped short, frozen with fear.

The moment passed like the flicker of a candle in the wind. Susan rushed forward suddenly. "I remember this place," she cried breathlessly. "But we didn't go through it, we went across it."

"Yes, there was a sort of trail going that way," Barbara added.

"Are you okay?" Ian asked the Doctor.

"I'm fine," the Doctor snapped back. "Don't keep looking on me as the weakest link in the party."

Barbara suddenly screamed and clutched at Ian.

"What?" I demanded.

"I saw something move, over there in the bushes," Barbara cried, pointing towards a dark patch of brambles.

"It was your imagination," the Doctor insisted.

"No, I'm certain it was there,"

"Then let's not wait around for it to get us," I declared.

"Oh Ian, we're never going to get out of this awful place. Never, never!" Barbara continued to cry, burying her face in Ian's chest.

"Don't cry, Barbara, please," Ian almost begged. "We escaped the Cave of Skulls. We'll get back to the ship and then we'll be safe."

As Ian continued to try and comfort Barbara, I gripped the folds of my white fur coat and wrapped them tighter around myself, feeling the sting of the icy wind as though it was cutting right through me.

"It's so cold," I whispered.

"I'm hot from all this exertion," the Doctor replied, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief.

"We can't stay here too long," Ian said to us.

"Do you think I want to?" the Doctor called back.

"We must move on. We'll change the order," Ian declared. "You, Terna, and Susan will go in front. Barbara and I will bring up the rear. Susan seems to remember the way better than us anyways."

"And who elected you the leader of this party?" the Doctor demanded.

"Oh for the Creator's sake," I exclaimed in dismay.

"I will not follow orders blindly," the Doctor cried.

"There's no time to vote on it," Ian insisted.

"You're a tiresome young man," the Doctor grumbled.

"And you're a stubborn old one," Ian shot back.

"I'm not old! I'm only four hundred and six," the Doctor insisted.

"You're both morons," I cut in. There was another howl from the forest. All three of us turned its way. It sounded closer this time. "And we're all going to get eaten if we just stand about arguing."

"You're one to talk," the Doctor grumbled.

"Claude os tuum et senis,**" I replied to him firmly, before turning to Ian. "Susan and will go first; you hang back and keep watch on the Doctor." Ian nodded as the group broke into their designated spots and we kept moving. We'd only moved a few paces before Barbara tripped on a root and fell down on her face. She collapsed with a cry that mounted to a scream when she saw what lay in front of her. I whipped around and felt a lump of nausea build up in my throat. Nestled in the grass before Barbara was the disembodied head of a boar. Its eyes bloated and lifeless with its tongue bulging from gaping jaws, hung open in a permanent scream. Ripped from the neck, bellow the jaw was drowning in blood.

"What did that?" Susan whimpered.

"I don't want to hang around and find out," Ian replied, helping a trembling Barbara to her fit.

"What was that?" I cried, whirling around.

"Oh, not you too, Terna," the Doctor exclaimed.

"Shut up, I definitely heard something and I have the ears of a wolf," I shot back. There was a snap of a twig and the steady murmur of hushed voices.

"We're being followed," Barbara whispered.

"Hurry, everyone, hide," Ian cried and we all scrambled towards a divot behind a fallen log a short ways from the path. Crouched close together in the tight space, we dared not breath as we heard the sounds of our pursuers at our backs draw steadily closer while the howl of the boar-slaughtering beast raged on further ahead of us. "Great trapped between psycho cavepeople and a slaughtering predator," I grumbled. "Hardly an appetizing sandwich."

Translation:  
*Stupid fucking wall  
**Shut your mouth, old man

A/N: Terna's language is a *butchered* form of Latin by the way. And that's Chapter five left on a perilous cliffhanger. Hope you enjoyed and I shall return next week.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Another late chapter. Thank God for the day off *nervous laugh

Chapter 6: Dawn

We huddled close together, burying our forms in the darkness the shadows of the forest created. We could hear the relentless wailing of the ferocious creature not far ahead of us while the subtle murmurs and practiced footsteps of our human pursuers drew steadily closer behind us. My mind raced as I fought to keep my breathing even. Terna was right about one thing: we were cut off from both sides with two separate enemies at our fronts and backs. Trapped in the middle, in the darkness of an alien time; things were not looking good for us.

At that moment, the bushes on the other side of the clearing broke away, and two figures stepped into view. One was Za, the supposed leader of the Fire People. He slipped along through the dense foliage at a hunter's careful pace with a wooden club half-raised in anticipation. The second figure was the woman with the reddish-brown hair that had defended Za when his rival Kal had accused him of cowardice.

"Keep down and not a sound," Ian hissed from beside me, still clutching a trembling Barbara close to him. Then why are you talking?

"I heard one of the woman scream not far from this spot," Za said to the woman. Great, both of the humans are going to give us away.

"Za, look!" the woman cried, pointing to the lump of blackened flesh that was the boar's head still lying in a bloody heap on the path.

"The beast of the forest is among us!" Za's grip tightened on his club as though he expecting said creature to leap out of the bushes at any moment. Good, now be a smart caveman, and get out of here before the thing eats you. Not that it matters, either way it works to our advantage.

Instead there was another howl that died down into a grumbling snort as the creature lumbered closer, twigs and leaves snapping and parting as it scuffled about in the shadows.

The beast was but a few yards from us; I could hear its snorting and slurping as it seemed to be devouring the rest of the boar it had slaughtered. The woman started forward, seemingly eager to get away from the clearing and out of the open; I didn't blame her.

"Wait, Hur," Za held her back. "There is danger. I will go first." Hur nodded minutely as Za moved swiftly towards the other side of the clearing. He was nearing the ferns we were hiding behind. Moving as one, we all shrank down together, attempting to make our bodies as small and insignificant as possible. I could feel Terna crouched on the other side of me; her cold breath against my neck. With only her Force Amina keeping her body warm, her breaths came out in frigid wisps like ice vapor.

We watched, unblinking, as Za slipped by us on slight, silent feet. He neared the bushes as they whipped frantically about, flashes of some huge, hairy creature could be seen between the branches. He raised his club. The slurping fell silent in the space of a heartbeat, and then the beast lunged. Za let out a scream almost as inhuman as the beast's howl as it came down upon him. Hur shrieked. Her cries were soon mixed with the frantic screams of Za as the beast tackled him to the ground. He rolled desperately under it and tumbled out of sight as the beast slashed and bit and tore. Blood was seen and the sounds of gore could be heard echoing throughout the forest.

Barbara's grip on Ian tightened; her face chalk-white in the early morning dawn. Susan grabbed my hand and averted her eyes. But there was nothing we could do to hide the sounds: Hur's sobs as Za was brutally assaulted. I jumped slightly when I felt pressure on my other arm. I turned to see Terna had her fingers closed tightly around my sleeve in a vice-like grip. However, unlike Susan, her eyes were wide and unwavering. They watched the spectacle with a million different emotions swirling through them. I stared at Terna, shocked at what I was seeing. Her face pale; her eyes filled with a twisted and frantic fear. "Quick! Now's our chance," Ian exclaimed.

"N-No, we can't!" Barbara cried, gripping his arms to hold him. "We can't just leave them. I don't care what they've done!"

"Barbara, please, we have to go," Ian pleaded.

At that moment, I felt the grip on my arm loosen. "Terna!" I cried as the Lyall started forward. I grabbed her wrist. "Terna what are you doing? You'll give us all away."

"There's a man dying out there. I can help him," Terna replied fiercely.

"He was our enemy a few moments ago," I exclaimed, fighting through gritted teeth as Terna strained against me. "If our situations were reversed, do you think he would do the same?"

"I don't care about that. I can't just sit by and let him waste away!" Terna cried, whirling to face me. As she did so, I caught a flash of something in her blue eyes. Some kind of burning intensity, an expression I'd never seen on her face before. She didn't want to help Za; she needed to help him. Aghast, my grip slackened, and Terna broke through the brush and raced towered the spot where Za had fallen.

"Here. Let me help," Barbara called after her, racing to catch up.

"Barbara!" Ian cried uselessly as he tried to catch up.

What utter fools. They were going to get themselves killed. There was no way Za and Hur came alone. As soon as they brought themselves into the open, they were most likely going to get ambushed by dozens of other cave people.

Susan started forward too, but I snatched her shoulders and held her back.

"No, Susan! You're staying here with me," I declared.

"No, Grandfather," Susan protested.

"Silence. We're going back to the ship," I snapped.

"No, we can't leave them behind!" Susan cried, wriggling from my grasp and breaking from our hiding places towards the others.

I stood there in the empty dell, arms open in shock. "What are they doing?" I whispered. "Have the all lost their minds?"

Something other than my mind started my legs forward. I knew there was a good chance I was going to get myself killed if I went after Susan and the others, but I couldn't' just stand there while my granddaughter threw herself into danger. Sighing between clenched teeth, I stalked off after the others.

I heard of the Fire People before I saw them: Za's cries of anguish as he lay on the ground in a tattered, bloody heap and Hur's sobs as she crouched over him, running her hands across his wounds in helpless desperation. The front of Za's tunic had been torn open and deep slashes crisscrossed across his chest. Sticky, crimson blood splatted across his ravaged flesh. He choked and gasped as more blood gurgled up his throat and dribbled down his chin as he moaned in pain.

"No, no, no," Hur cried, grasping at the folds of his tattered clothes and sobbing bitterly.

As I approached, Terna knelt down beside the distraught woman.

"No! Keep away!" the woman cried, lunging for Terna.

Ian made a move to come between them, but Terna held both of them back.

"Let me look at him." Her voice was low and serious at a level I'd never heard her speak before.

"No," Hur cried.

"Please, she can help," Ian explained. Hur looked at him; her vague eyes wide.

"We are your friends," Ian continued. Hur cocked her head to the side like a confused dog.

"Friend?" she whispered.

"Yes, he's your friend," Terna redirected Hur's attention. "I want to help him. Do you understand?"

Hur seemed to be pondering this for a moment, but finally she relented.

Slowly, Terna bent over the wounded Za. "Do you think you'll be able to do it again, Terna?" Susan asked.

"It will prove to more difficult," I declared. "These wounds are deep. It will be a far more complicated a process than mending a simple cut."

Terna ignored my comment. "I need you to go and get him some water," she instructed Hur.

"No! I will not leave him!" the woman cried, her hands hovering over Za in a still protective manner.

"He will be fine. I will take care of him while you're gone," Terna spoke with a certain kind of tenderness that I didn't think her voice would be able to emanate. When she talked to me, Susan, or the humans, her voice was like steel, cold and sharp. But here, she spoke with a softness that made her appear stronger but also more vulnerable at the same time. Perplexed, I watched Terna with a silent fascination as Hur rushed off to a nearby brook that cut through the bottom of a steep ravine on the other side of the path.

"Ian, watch her," Terna instructed. "I'm not a hundred percent sure that she won't run back to the caves for reinforcements."

"You don't trust her fully?" Ian asked; his eyes now fixed solely on the young cave woman.

"How can I?" Terna replied as she began vigorously rubbing her fingers together as though trying to warm them. The friction caused the blue, fire-like Amina to bloom in her palms. "And I don't think she trusts us fully either," she added.

"How can she?" Barbara mused.

"True," Terna agreed as she once again bent over Za. His eyes fluttered open, dazed and confused.

"H-Hur.." he croaked.

"Shhh," Terna soothed him, gently rubbing her fingers across his sweaty face. "It's going to be alright. I promise." She then fell silent as she gently placed her hands over the gaping wounds in Za's chest. Closing her eyes, Terna's face twisted into an expression of deep concentration. No one moved or spoke, for fear of disturbing her.

Terna's Psychic Amina unfurled across Za's ravaged body, covering it in a cool, pleasant light. The fire of the wounds was quelled and the glaring blood dimmed as it seeped slowly back into his skin; the wounds sliding shut behind it. Finally, Terna broke away from him with a gasp. In the half light of early dawn, I could see a sheen of sweat across her forehead.

"There," Terna breathed, slowly getting to her feet.

"You did it," Susan exclaimed in amazement.

"That was incredible," Barbara added.

"It's the best I can do," Terna admitted, and I noted that Za still looked gaunt and flushed; his skin red with ripples of pain and exhaustion still coursing through his body. "I can't do anything for the pain and exhaustion." Terna verbally reaffirmed my observation.

"You made fire!" Hur's shriek alarmed us all, and we whirled around to face her. She was standing at the edge of the path; a leaf filled with water from the stream clasped in her trembling hand.

"Oh no, I knew something like this would happen," I hissed through gritted teeth.

"No, it's not fire," Terna tried to explain even though I knew it was fruitless. How could she possibly expect this simple human to comprehend her Amina when Ian and Barbara couldn't wrap their brains around my TARDIS? And they had millennia worth of evolution to back them. Terna slowly approached Hur as if to console her. Understandably, the woman took a frantic step back.

"I'm not going to hurt you!" Terna insisted, holding her arms aloft as though in surrender. "It's not fire. It's a special light that brings good things." Her simplified explanation was almost laughable.

"You healed him with special fire?" Hur whispered.

"Sure. I mean, yeah, I did." Terna smiled wryly.

"Hur!" Za's gurgled cry redirected the woman's attention, and she rushed to his side. Barbara knelt down to help, taking a handkerchief from her pocket and using it to dab the remainder of blood from Za's wounds. "It looks like most of this is the animal's blood," she announced.

"Where is the beast now?" Susan cried.

"Ran off, into the woods. Za injured it," Hur declared proudly.

"It'll have bled out before it can make it back her to make a snack of us," Ian predicted, stooping so as to help Barbara clean off Za. "So much for us getting away."

I hung back, keenly observing the others fuss over the gasping and still heavily pained savage.

Terna turned to face me. In a flash, her expression hardened over and that open side of her was quickly swallowed up by a familiar, and admittedly welcome, scowl. "Where are you getting the nerve to scowl at me like that, Time Lord?" she snapped.

"I don't understand you, Terna," I shot back. "One minute we were doing everything in our power to get away from this people, and now we're trying to help them?"

"Yes, we are," Ian announced. "And why don't you help? You're a doctor, after all."

"I'm not a doctor of medicine," I exclaimed in exasperation.

"Oh, of course you're not," Terna cried, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe we can make friends with them?" Susan offered.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, child," I cried in exasperation.

"Why?" Barbara abruptly demanded of me. "You treat everyone and everything as less important than yourself."

"You're trying to say that everything you do is reasonable and everything I do is inhuman," I observed, "but you're judgments are at fault in this right, not mine. You do realize that if these two people can follow us than more can as well. We could have the whole tribe descending on us at any moment!" I was getting flustered at this point. I had no interest in sticking out my neck for a heathen that had locked us in a cell to rot until he saw fit to slaughter us.

"The tribe is asleep," Hur insisted.

"Not all of them," I asserted. "What of the old woman who set us free?"

Hur stared at him blankly.

"He is right. We're too exposed here," Ian admitted. "We need to get a move on."

"We can't just leave them here," Terna insisted.

"We'll make a stretcher," Ian announced, shrugging off his jacket and instructing the two women to do the same. We're not taking him back to the ship, if that's the young man's idea. "Susan, I need you to go find two long branches," he added to the girl. Susan nodded and hurried off into the brush, my face lined with worry.

Terna seemed to notice it. "The old woman won't give us away," she reassured me. "Why would she? She set us free. She wants us to get away."

"You think so?" I smiled dryly. "These people have logic and reason, do they?"

"Do not patronize me, Time Lord." Terna fumed.

"Oh come of it, Terna. You're smarter than to believe that these people won't go back on their word. They're no better than animals, surviving purely on instinct. They'll change on a whim."

Terna regarded me darkly. "I thought a Time Lord's job was to care for everyone and everything all throughout time, or are you an exception? I had known you were unorthodox, but I never had thought that much."

"Then why do you care so much for these insipid savages?" I shot back. "I thought a Lyall considered all beings in the universe to be beneath them."

"Well, maybe I'm unorthodox too," Terna shot back. I stared at her, surprised at her outburst. Meanwhile, the others fumbled about with their coats and Susan returned with two long sticks to hold them together. They arranged the coats in various ways across the sticks, but couldn't find a way to hold them together.

"It's not going to work like this," Ian exclaimed in frustration.

Susan moved over to Za's head in an attempt to prop it up. Hur screeched suddenly and lunged for Susan, who cried out in shock.

"No! He's mine," the cavewoman cried.

"I was only trying to help," Susan wailed.

"She doesn't understand. She's jealous of you," Terna explained, moving over to help, sliding her own coat off her shoulders. As she did so, I couldn't help to conceal my alarm to see that Terna's bare arms were covered in faint bluish bruises and gaping sores.

"Terna…" I started, but she silenced me with a pointed look.

"I pushed myself a little farther than this body can take. Don't sweat it," she stated simply before turning back to the others and handing Ian her coat.

"Why do you do this?" Hur demanded of her. "You are like a mother with a child. Why do you not kill?"

Was it a trick of the light or did I catch something flash across Terna's face; the faintest increment of some expression that was too brief to make out fully.

"How can we explain this to her?" Ian whispered to Barbara. "She doesn't understand kindness or friendship."

I watched as Terna knelt in front of Hur again. "We made him well again, and we will show you how to make fire," she said to her. "In return, you will show us the way back to our…cave." I assumed she meant the TARDIS. Hur started Terna; I could see the hesitation in her eyes.

"Listen to them," Za croaked. Hur rushed to his side and beant over him. "They do not kill," Za continued. Hur nodded before Za began to cry for water, and Hur jumped to her feet and rushed back down the revine on the edge of the path where the stream was.

I watched her go, and our eyes met for but a moment.

"Here, let's try the sleeves inside now," Ian recommended before turning towards me. "How about giving us a hand, Doctor?"

I didn't respond; I was staring after Hur. Were her primitive eyes reflecting some kind of resentment towards me? Did she understand that I was refraining myself from helping her?

Vaguely, I heard Susan murmur to the others: "he's always like this when he doesn't get his way." Oh, so she thinks I'm being stubborn. Terna seemed to think the same for she came up to me again.

"I may have my pride, Time Lord, but that does not mean I am without compassion. I am Lucent, after all, and I hold myself to that honorably. You Time Lords are not so divided, but that does not mean you cannot still be good."

I regarded her thoughtfully, once again alarmed by the earnest in her eyes. This was a side of Terna I had not yet seen, and it fascinated me considerably. But, for the moment…

At that time, the stretcher seemed to be complete and everyone else had gathered around Za to hoist him onto the flimsy structure.

"Won't you give us a hand, Doctor?" Ian demanded. "Or do you expect the women to do the job for you? "

"Oh, very well." Fine job at jabbing me into helping you, human; I'll give you that much.

Terna grasped one corner of the stretcher near Za's head. I came up behind her and pointedly clasped her shoulder.

"You've exerted yourself enough," I declared, motioning for her to hand her share of the load to me.

I expected her to protest, but she relented rather quickly and stepped back so I could help Ian, Barbara, and Hur heave Za off the ground. He moaned quietly but otherwise remained still.

"Where to?" I demanded breathlessly.

"Back to the TARDIS where we can get him proper medication for his pain," Ian declared. "Unless you object to that, Doctor?"

I clenched my teeth. "Whatever." I didn't have the energy to argue, and this man was heavier than he looked. So, we moved on, continuing to troop along the forest path in relative silence. Ian, Barbara, Hur, and me carrying Za on the makeshift stretcher while Susan and Terna walked alongside us, attempting to help at any point.

"Want me to take it for a while?" Terna offered at one point when I stumbled slightly.

"No." I quickly declined. I would not have her usurping me in such a manner. "You've done enough as it is. Your body needs rest."

"Indeed," Terna smiled grimly. "I'm not used to this. It seems I've used more Amina than I anticipated, and my body took the punch."

Wait a minute…"You knew this would happen," I mused.

Terna's smile broadened. "I figured it. I haven't had to worry about such things as skin and a physical body. I didn't have them before. I'd quite forgotten about them, and I used enough Amina to weaken it considerably. If I'm not careful, and I use my Psychic Amina too much and too often; I might tear this body to shreds. I guess in the heat of the moment, I wasn't thinking."

I regarded Terna thoughtfully. "I hadn't ever thought you to be this soft-hearted, Lyall."

"Well, there are many things you don't know about me, Time Lord. Many things…" Terna's voice trailed off, and she turned her head from me. I still, however, caught a glimpse of her eyes: vibrant blue shining out from her lined face and I saw the youth in them. For the first time, I realized how young Terna truly was. A young woman had she'd not been in the body the TARDIS gave her. In fact, had she been born a Time Lord, in our years she'd have been younger than me.

"There's the edge of the forest!" I was wrenched from my musings as Susan confirmed what we all soon saw to be tree. We had reached the edge of the tree line and already mounds of the frozen sand from the desert beyond were spilling into the forest scape to collect in drifts around and under the trees like mounds of powdery snow. And, off in the distance, I could see it, and my heart leaped as I did so: the TARDIS, half sunken in the soft desert dunes like a lighthouse beacon calling us to it.

"There's the TARDIS. We're almost there!" Susan continued. We all quickened our pace, energy renewed upon seeing the end of our perilous trek so close. But luck was not with us.

Out from the bushes, a shrill shriek ripped through the silence of the pale, winter dawn. We barely had time to react before the remainders of the Fire People tribe were upon us, springing from the bushes and leaping from the tree branches; they swarmed us like furry insects in numbers so overwhelming they seemed to drop from the heavens. Susan and Barbara both screamed; Ian and I attempted to fight them off as two of the men forcefully pulled our arms behind our backs. Terna, meanwhile, dropped to the ground and tried to roll away but the leader of the assault, Kal, snatched her up and held her like a doll in his arms while she kicked and shrieked vile insults at him in her own tongue.

"Thought you could get away?" he sneered in her ear as he began applying pressure to her throat. "Thought wrong." Terna choked under the pressure; her face going pale. I twisted in my own captor's grasp, feeling the blood pounding in my ears from the adrenaline.

Kal let Terna fall from his grasp; she lay in a heap at his feet, gasping and choking.

"Stop it!" Hur shrieked in the center of the chaos, standing over the still unconscious Kal. "Leave them be!"

"Do you not see?" Kal cried to the crowd. "Hur and Za allowed the prisoners to escape and traveled with them."

"We did not free them," Hur asserted, getting up in Kal's face.

Kal laughed. "Za is so weak that he needs a woman to speak for him."

"We did not free the prisoners," Hur reaffirmed. "The old woman let them go."

"The old woman is dead," Kal asserted. "Za killed her with his knife."

"No!" Hur's eyes were wide upon this revelation.

"Here," Kal bent down and pulled the knife from Za's belt. "Here is the knife he killed her with."

He held the sharpened stone aloft. I smiled. "This knife has no blood on it," I declared.

Kal started. "What?"

"I said this knife has no blood on it," I reaffirmed.

Kal faltered ever so slightly. He let the knife fall from his hands. It hit the sand with a 'thud'. "It is a bad knife. It does not show the things it does."

"I say it is a good knife," I asserted. "I have never seen a better knife."

Beyond Kal's stupefied expression, I could see Terna slowly rising into a sitting position. For a moment, our eyes met, and I could see the knowing smile in her eyes, young like mine and entrapped within an otherwise aging face.

"I will show you a better knife than Za's!" Kal declared, fishing around in the belt of his tunic. Ah reverse psychology, works every time. "Here." He held the knife out to me.

My smiled broadened as I stepped away from my stunned captor and took the knife in my hands. It was soaked in fresh blood. "This knife shows what it does," I announced to the crowd. "This knife has blood on it." A unified gasp rose up from the chorus. At that moment, Za opened his eyes and sat up, haggard and dazed. "Who killed the old woman?" I asked, before holding the bloody knife under Za's nose. "Did you kill her?"

"No." Za shook his head. "I did not kill her."

I turned to Kal. "You killed the old woman."

Kal hesitated. "Yes!" he admitted. More shocked cries from the crowd. "I killed the old woman. She set them free. She set them free! I, Kal, killed her!"

More murmurs from the crowd. "Is this a strong leader?" I poured gas on the growing fire. No pun intended. "The one who killed the old woman? He is a bad leader!" The murmurs turned to cries of agreement. Kal squirmed where he stood. "He is a bad leader," I repeated, stooping to help Terna to her feet. She shook my hand off, naturally, and stood on her own. "Follow my example." I turned to Susan, Ian, and Barbara who were all watching me stunned. "Everyone, take a rock," I said to them. I picked up a stone and hurled it at Kal. "Drive him out. Drive him out!" I cried.

"Yes, drive him out." Ian caught on as he and the others grabbed fistfuls of the desert stones.

"Drive the bad leader out!" Terna hollered, chucking a rock and hitting Kal square in the shoulder. He hissed like a snake whose rattle had been stepped on.

"He killed the old woman!" Hur cried, grabbing a stone big enough for two hands and tossing it at Kal. Kal shrieked and grunted; his eyes wild as he spewed those primitive noses, showing plainly the animal he was. "You will not drive out Kal!" he hollered to the crowd as the pressed forward, hurling stones. "I will not be driven out again! I will be leader." In a flash, he snatched his knife up from the sand and whirled to face me. "You want bad knife, old man?" he hissed, raising it threateningly.

He lunged. "Grandfather!" Susan shrieked, rushing forward. Terna dove in front of me.

What happened next surprised us all. One minute Kal was like a raging bull stampeding towards me, the next he had staggered to a halt. His jaw went slack with shock and a trickle of blood dribbled down his chin. Za had sat up in the stretcher and was holding a spare knife between his hands; a knife he had plunge up to the crude hilt into Kal's abdomen.

"I am leader," Za whispered. "A leader does not allow bad for his people."

Kal's dark eyes turned towards Za and all the hatred for him poured out like the blood from his mouth and the wound in his side. Then he fell to the ground. Za scrambled away and into Hur's anxious arms. The crowd, meanwhile, closed in on Kal like a pack of vultures. "Drive him out! Drive him out!" they chanted, pelting his dying body with stones. Susan rushed to me and buried her face in my chest. I averted my eyes as the stones collided with Kal's bloody and convulsing body until it finally stilled.

Kal's body was disposed to a ravine and left to the vultures. After which, I had a quick word with the elated Za, as he now had no opposition to his leadership, about allowing us to return freely to the TARDIS. Za said that he would but on one condition. Funny, I didn't think these people were advanced enough to make deals.

"What was that all about?" Terna asked once Za let me go, and I headed back to her and the others who were gathered on edge of the desert.

"Za allowed us to go free as long as I showed him how to make fire with dry wood. You know, instead of matches," I explained simply.

"Don't you think that's a little risky just giving him the answer like that? Isn't it meddling with history if you don't let him figure it out for himself?"

"Terna, need I remind you that we have two humans from 1963 inside our TARDIS. This is the least of our worries."

Terna arched an eyebrow. "Our TARDIS?"

"_My_ TARDIS," I quickly corrected myself. "Now, come on. I think all the spiders have filtered out of the console room."

Terna bristled as I brushed past her. "Please don't joke about that."

Terna hung back as I headed towards the lone TARDIS half-buried in the white desert sands along with the others. I glanced over my shoulder with the intent of telling her to hurry up when I saw that Hur had grabbed Terna's wrist. Terna stared at her in surprise.

"Friend," Hur smiled, showing crooked, yellow teeth. "Good."

A stunned expression crossed Terna's face before it retreated back into a small smile. Patting Hur gently on the shoulder, she then turned and hurried to catch up the hill. Her long, silver hair had come loose of its braid during our trek through the forest and it fanned out behind her in the early morning sunlight like gleaming steel. My eyes widened. Had it always looked like that?

"What are you staring that?" Terna's voice seemed to have snapped me out of some kind of stupor.

"Grandfather, come on!" Susan called from inside the TARDIS.

"Yes, let's get out of her before the tribe changes their mind," Ian added.

"Finally, something we can agree on." I grumbled, stepping over the TARDIS threshold, feeling the comforting metallic material under my worn feet replaced the ancient sand. Terna rolled her eyes, but it was with a smile. I watched with another look of surprise as she collapsed into the Egyptian throne beside Susan who had started up the TARDIS. Her smile…

A/N: So, it seems the Doctor's opinion of Terna has changed. What about her opinion of him? Stay tuned and sorry once again this was late.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I'm so sorry I've been so bad with updating; junior year's really been beating me into the ground. Regardless, enough excuses from me; I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 7: Emptiness

Terna sat slumped on the Egyptian throne as the TARDIS spun throughout time and space like a never-slowing top. Of course, she felt nothing of this sensation and neither did the ship's four other occupants.  
"Where is this thing taking us now?" Ian demanded of the Doctor.  
"Nowhere you should be concerning yourself with, Chesterfield," the Doctor replied, only half listening as he was too busy fiddling with the TARDIS controls.  
"Chesterton," Ian corrected, sounding exasperated.  
"Won't you take us home now?" Barbara asked tiredly.  
"We can't do that, or have you forgotten?" the Doctor asserted.  
"No, of course I haven't," Barbara replied. "But Ian and I don't belong in this place. Please, take us back to our own time."  
"I simply cannot do it," the Doctor replied definitively.  
"Actually, you probably could," Terna piped up from her spot on the throne. "As long as I successfully wiped their memories, that is."  
Everyone turned her way with looks of surprise. "Oh, I'd quite forgotten you were there, Terna. You're so uncharacteristically quiet," the Doctor exclaimed bitterly.  
"Humor me, Time Lord," Terna pressed, getting to her feet and walking over to him. "If I erased all memories of this ordeal from the human's minds, they would remember nothing of the TARDIS and therefore no longer be a threat to you. The only reason why I was unable to do it initially was because that bumbling buffoon tripped into the console and messed everything up." She gestured to Ian, who looked understandably miffed.  
"Why would we agree to have our minds tampered with by you?" Barbara demanded.  
"Yeah, I'm not having any part of you in my head," Ian agreed.  
"But would you not want to forget the events you just witnessed?" Terna inquired, turning to the two humans. "I'd imagine it must have been a very trying experience."  
Barbara scowled. "Do not patronize us."  
"You make it too easy," Terna replied with a smile.  
"But that would work out alright. Wouldn't it, Grandfather?" Susan exclaimed. "Terna's got a good point."  
The Doctor sighed, rubbing the space between his eyes. "I suppose."  
"We didn't agree to this!" Ian continued.  
"You're given little choice in the matter," Terna replied. "You humans think you're capable of such great feats when in actuality your minds are quite small…BANG! There was a thunderous crash as the TARDIS suddenly bucked and rolled in mid-flight, launching all of its passengers across the floor and sending them rolling down the deck on their hands and knees. As quickly as it came, the movement stopped and there was a blunt 'thud' signifying the TARDIS had landed. Terna sat up to meet a thin film of steam slowly filtering out of the cracks and groves in the console as well as a pungent odor. "Did I mention I hate this thing? Because I do," she grumbled, scrambling to her feet.  
"What's happened now?" Ian demanded bitterly as he and Barbara got up rather gracelessly.  
"Stupid piece of worthless…" the Doctor muttered to himself, fanning away the steam as he stumbled over to the console and adjusted a few of the knobs. When the steam finally cleared, everyone had managed to regain their bearings and had joined the Doctor at the center console.  
"Now, let's see where we are," the Doctor murmured, flicking a switch, and the view screen in the corner jumped to life. A bizarre image slowly fizzled into clarity that displayed a bleak and empty forest of still, bare trees that crawled up from the black dirt to reach like skeleton hands into the equally dark sky.  
"Where is that?" Susan whispered.  
"I do not know," the Doctor replied. "I cannot tell height or hair of this place from just the view the screen is giving me." He stopped when he saw Terna moving slowly closer to the view screen so as to get a better look.  
"I feel like I've seen this place before," she whispered, staring intently at the image before averting her gaze, eyes losing themselves in thought. "But for the life of me, I can't remember where."  
"Well, I don't suppose we should take a look around until after we've all cleaned ourselves up a bit," the Doctor observed, causing everyone to glance down at their torn, dirt-smeared clothes and faces and raggedy, windblown hair. They still hadn't full recovered from their encounter with the Fire People. Terna even noticed a large tear running up the left side of her blue dress so a mud-splattered silver sandal could be seen pocking out of the slit as well as some rather obscene toenails. Terna quickly buried her foot back into the remaining folds of her skirt. "Probably a good idea," she mumbled.  
"Come with me," the Doctor instructed her and the humans, leading them towards the door that lead out of the Bridge and into the halls. "I doubt you know where the shower rooms are."  
"I know where the swimming pool is," Terna murmured.  
"Oh, and Susan, what is the radiation reading?" the Doctor inquired over his shoulder. Susan glanced briefly at the meter on the console.  
"It's reading normally, Grandfather," she replied. The Doctor nodded.  
"Good. Now, follow me." Terna glanced worriedly at the image of the empty wood still displayed on the view screen before following.

Terna was surprised when she emerged from her shower room, wrapped in a fluffy, white robe and with her silvery hair falling around her shoulders in wet ringlets. "Terna," the addressed glanced up from her observation of the tear in her dress hem to see Susan standing in the middle of the hall, also dressed in a robe. She seemed to have been waiting for her. "Oh, your dress ripped," Susan exclaimed, taking the garment from the already bewildered Terna. "Here. I'll help you fix that."  
Before Terna could protest, Susan had taken her hand and lead her down the hall, around the corner, and through a series of more doors until they reached a very familiar, bee-hived shaped room.  
The wardrobe was its same sweeping, overwhelming mass of clothing of all shapes and sizes, but it seemed to have gotten bigger somehow; if that was even possible.  
"Why do you have some many clothes anyways?" Terna demanded as Susan dropped her hand and went over to peruse the nearest rack.  
"All TARDIS' come equipped with a vast variety of clothing items just in case," Susan exclaimed simply, finally selecting a simple blouse and slacks combination outfit from the lineup. Terna watched her as she moved behind a changing screen. "You can just set the dress down in the basket over there." She talked as she went, gesturing to a large laundry basket that could have held a good ten loads worth of clothing. It was positioned rather inconspicuously next to a chute of sorts.  
"What's that do?" Terna asked as she dropped the torn dress into the basket.  
"When clothing is dropped into that basket, the TARDIS takes the clothing down into the inner workings and repairs it. An hour or so later, it come back to you all nicely washed and mended," Susan explained, reemerging from behind the screen as she spoke, running a hairbrush through her short, dark hair.  
"Seems this thing does just about everything," Terna mused, leaning forward ever so slightly to peer into the chute.  
"It has to," Susan replied simply. "TARDIS' need to be fully functional so that a Time Lord or Lady can live within them for years if need be."  
"Regardless, it doesn't seem I'll be getting my dress back for a while," Terna continued, glancing dejectedly at the heap of torn fabric sitting at the bottom of the basket.  
"Oh, there's bound to be another dress for you somewhere," Susan exclaimed with a smile. "There's plenty more to choose from after all."  
Terna smiled wryly, glancing out at the vast display of clothes. "Yes, I suppose so."  
"Come on. Let's go find you a nice blue one. Blue is definitely your color," Susan declared.  
"Your Grandfather said the same thing," Terna mused.  
Susan's eyes widened. "He did?"

"Ah, this one's perfect!" Terna looked up from a wool vest covered in bright red question marks she'd been keenly observing to see Susan had selected a dress from the rack opposite her. Terna gaped as she held it aloft. It was form fitting and sapphire blue, ankle-length like her other dress but with a tube top neckline. Blue lace circled up along the bodice to make a collar that came to rest at the throat and then filtered down to create wrist-length sleeves. "Whoa." Terna breathed.  
"Do you like it?" Susan asked, her smile earnest.  
"It's is rather nice," Terna admitted.  
"Well, go on then. Try it on," Susan insisted.  
Terna nodded, ducking behind the changing screen.  
Susan's face broke into a wide grin when Terna reemerged a few minutes later, the dress draped fittingly around her slight frame. "Wow! You look amazing," she cried.  
Terna blinked in surprise. "You think so?"  
"Yes, you're very pretty," Susan replied.  
"Even in this old skin?" Terna asked, turning to examine her reflection in the mirror. Well, the dress did look alright.  
"Oh, don't worry about that," Susan replied simply, walking up behind her and twisting her small, pale hands through Terna's hair. "Terna, if you don't mind, could I do your hair for you?"  
Terna glanced at her in surprise. "Why would you want to do my hair?"  
"It's so pretty, and it's not like I didn't like the way you had it before, but I don't have long hair to do up any more, and I want to experiment with new styles."  
Terna stared at her. "If you don't like your hair short, why don't you wear it long again?"  
"Maybe it will be long again," Susan replied thoughtfully.  
Terna regarded Susan with a look of confusion, but wasn't allowed to ponder the Time Lady's odd statements much longer as she lead her over to a chair in front of the mirror and got to work. As Susan twined her fingers through Terna's damp hair, she babbled on about her grandfather and all of the places he'd told her he'd visited.  
"I haven't been to many worlds yet," she admitted. "I wasn't allowed to because I'm still young. But I'll be one hundred and forty two next spring," she added proudly.  
"Susan," Terna interrupted the young girl's musings. Susan stopped, surprised. It had been the first time Terna had called her by her name. "Why are you being so nice to me?" she continued after a brief pause.  
"Why not?" Susan replied, going back to the Lyall's hair, but moving a lot slower now. "I'm taking advantage of the fact there's another girl on board the ship now."  
"There's Barbara," Terna reminded her.  
Susan shrugged. "She was one of my school teachers back on earth. It's not the same. Also, she doesn't understand us as well as you do."  
"That might not be such a bad thing," Terna mumbled, a trace of bitterness in her tone.  
"And you're a lot more approachable then you were before," Susan continued. "You saved my grandfather after all; I'm grateful for that. Although, you do still antagonize him. I wish you'd stop that."  
"He antagonizes me," Terna asserted. At that moment, Susan had put the finishing touches on Terna's hair.  
"There, done," she declared. "Take a look." Terna paused to cross-examine her reflection. Susan had done a braid that had sprouted from Terna's part and then wrapped around the side of her head to curl into the back and vanish into a nest of silver curls that bunched up against the back of her head, dotted in these curls were slight gleams of small, circular gems.  
"What do you think?" Susan asked.  
"Pearls?" Terna whispered. "You put pearls in my hair?"  
"Actually they're called Albu stones. They're from my home planet," Susan asserted. "I used to wear them in my hair back when it was long. I don't have much use for them now." Susan smiled slightly, pulling at a strand of her short, choppy cut. "But, honestly, do you like it?" Susan repeated her inquiry about her hairdressing skills.  
"Yes, Terna replied promptly, reaching into the pocket of her bathrobe. She pulled out a bag that contained her band crown and bracelets, all studded with the Stellae Octo, the eight pointed star. She examined herself keenly as she adjusted the jewelry, sliding the crown into place to rest amongst the curls. "But it's still missing something. Does the wardrobe have any makeup?"  
"Of course, it's in there with the jewelry." Susan pointed to the closet set in the corner of the wardrobe. "I don't use it much though. I've never been very good at makeup." Terna nodded, noting the young girl's bare features.  
"If you want, I could show you a few pointers?" she offered.  
Susan brightened. "Really?"  
"Sure, why not," Terna replied simply.  
The two girls, one old and one young in appearance alone, gathered together in the narrow closet space, carefully dabbing and curling delicate brushes across their pale features in order to highlight or sharpen their better qualities to perfection.  
"I look like a princess," Susan gazed in awe as soon as Terna finished applying a rose-pink shadow to her eyes.  
"Yeah, I guess you kinda do," Terna agreed. "But I'm surprised you've never done this kind of thing before. Don't you have a mom or older sisters to show you the cosmetic ropes?"  
Susan dropped her eyes. "No. My parents died when I was a baby, and I never had any siblings. I was brought up in an orphanage until I was taken to the Academy at age eight."  
"They send you to school that young?" Terna whistled. "Hard core."  
"What about you?" Susan inquired, seemingly eager to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Did you have any siblings?" Terna refrained from answering right away, leaning closer to the mirror so as to rub a silvery gloss across her lips. She blinked her blue shadowed eyes a few times to ensure that their mascara-coated lashes didn't clump together.  
"Yeah, I had two older sisters, two older brothers, and another younger brother," she finally stated.  
"Wow, that's a big family," Susan stated.  
"All Lyall families are big," Terna replied simply, opening a drawer and fishing around amongst the contents. "Hey, look at this." She pulled out a vial of nail polish.  
"Wow, that's a pretty color blue," Susan exclaimed. "It's the same color as the outside of the TARDIS. Hey, it's TARDIS blue!"  
"What is it exactly?" Terna inquired, holding the bottle closer to her face.  
"It's nail polish; you use it to paint your nails," Susan explained.  
"Why would you want to paint your finger nails?" Terna made a face.  
"Because it looks pretty," Susan asserted. "Come on. Let's go back to the console, and I'll show you."  
Terna glanced down. "Can you do my feet to? I recently discovered I have rather unappealing toenails."

Terna and Susan were the first ones back on the Bridge. The busted console fizzed and popped in a somewhat surly manner as they settled themselves done on an Ancient Greek lounge sofa and Susan then proceeded to paint Terna's nails.  
"So, you've never painted your nails before?" Susan exclaimed as she applied the thick paint to Terna's fingers.  
"No," Terna replied simply. "I didn't have any need for it in my true form."  
"Oh, I see," Susan's voice trailed off. "There! All done," she added a moment later. Terna held her hands aloft to observe the glossy sheen applied to her nails.  
"Why, hello, beautiful." Terna glanced up just as the Doctor sidled into the room. He gave her a wry smile.  
"Like her hair, Grandfather? I did it myself," Susan exclaimed proudly. Terna rolled her eyes.  
"Sadly your coy remark goes unappreciated as you insist on stating the obvious, Time Lord." She grinned as she got to her feet and spun once on the spot.  
The Doctor arched an eyebrow. "More blue? I'd say that's going to be your color from now on."  
"I agree," Susan smiled brightly. "I picked it out."  
"Glad to see someone's getting along on this mad little trip," the Doctor stated, brushing past Terna and heading over to the console. "The pearls are a nice touch," he whispered in her ear.  
Terna's face flushed with a mixture of anger and-was it embarrassment? Slightly puzzled, Terna sat back down on the couch beside Susan, who got to work on painting her toes. At that moment, Ian and Barbara entered. Both now clean-faced and combed back to perfection but still wearing the same clothes as before.  
"Ms. Wright, do you want me to paint your nails?" Susan asked.  
"No thanks," Barbara replied, shaking her head. "I got a manicure just last week."  
"Your loss," Terna murmured, not looking up from the nail painting.  
Ian smiled wryly at her. "Look at you, sprawled on that couch like a princess."  
"I'm a queen actually," Terna replied without looking up.  
"That explains a lot," the Doctor grumbled.  
Terna shot him a glare. "Oh, you're hilarious," she snapped sarcastically.  
"You did tell me to humor you," the Doctor reminded her.  
"Wait. You're serious?" Ian exclaimed, before Terna could respond to the Doctor.  
"Of course I'm serious," Terna shot back.  
"You are truly a queen?" Barbara whispered.  
"Why would I have any reason to say otherwise?" Terna demanded.  
"Did you really rule over the Lyall people as their Queen, Terna?" Susan asked.  
"Yes, on my home world, there were four women who ruled our people." Terna paused briefly to switch feet and Susan quickly dabbed the brush in the bottle of polish. "My mother was the Reginam Maximum, the High Queen. My two older sisters were the Corpus Reginam and the Mens Reginam: Queens of the Body and Mind. I, the third daughter, am the Animalus Reginam: Queen of the Soul." Having finished painting, Susan caped her bottle, and Terna lightly blew on her toenails so as to dry them.  
"If you're a Queen, what are you doing here?" Barbara inquired.  
Terna glanced up at her. The Doctor, who'd only vaguely been listening, once again caught a glimpse of some kind of darkness move across her face. "I was put in a compromising situation," Terna explained, not caring to elaborate further as she got to her feet once more.  
"Enough about that," the Doctor waved their conversation aside. "Now that we're all clean and refreshed, let us venture outside and see what this new world has to offer us. I'd much like to know where we are."  
"Yes, let's," Terna seemed oddly eager to dismiss the conversation as well. The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her.  
"Funny, Terna, I had thought you'd protest."  
"I'm just as curious about this planet as you, Time Lord," Terna replied simply.  
"Alright, let's go then," Susan exclaimed, eagerly jumping to her feet.  
The Doctor pressed the button on the console that opened the doors, with a faint hum they swung open, and a flurry of ash and steamy mist, like that from shower water, billowed across the threshold from the outside.  
"Are you two coming?" the Doctor asked Ian and Barbara.  
The two humans exchanged a glance. "Might as well," Ian finally said with a shrug.  
The group slowly and cautiously ventured out of the TARDIS and into the forest. It was as still and silent as a graveyard; the trees clawing up from the parched dirt as though fighting to escape the infertile soil. Everything hung with a faint white powder so that the scene looked like some kind of eerie Christmas card photo. Terna hugged her arms despite the balmy air. Almost as soon as she stepped over the threshold, she'd become almost consumed in a kind of dense, heavy feeling that squirmed in the pit of her stomach. There was some kind of_ wrongness_ in the air that disturbed her greatly the more she thought about it.  
"There's been a forest fire," Barbara observed. "Everything's all white and ashy."  
"The heat must have been indescribable," the Doctor agreed, pausing to kneel down and gather up a handful of the scorched dirt. "Look at this. It's all been turned to dust and ashes." He passed a handful to Barbara and Susan.  
"Ashes?" Terna bent down towards the ground and trailed her magnifying glass across its surface. "How could shrubs and trees grow in soil like this?"  
"Extraordinary, isn't it?" the Doctor exclaimed.  
"Unnatural is what it is," Terna replied, pocketing her glass and rising to her feet. A soft, cool breeze suddenly feathered its way across her face, faintly disturbing the tight curls gathered behind her head.  
"This breeze is blowing…How strange," Ian's voice trailed off.  
"What is it?" Susan asked.  
"Look at the branches; they're not moving," Ian exclaimed, pointing to the surrounding plant life.  
"You're right," Barbara exclaimed in astonishment. "They're completely still."  
Terna gazed around. The still silence of the trees, the ash for dirt, and still that dark feeling crept across her skin like pins and needles. Terna held the glass aloft, running it across the nearest tree. There was something very, very off about this place and the sensation only grew stronger and darker the longer she stood there.  
"Would you look at these trees," Ian exclaimed from beside her, pricking off the tip of one of the branches. "It's made of stone; it crumbles in your fingers," he said to Barbara and Susan.  
"Stone…" Terna slowly reached out and place her palm across the smooth, cold surface of the stone tree's trunk. As soon as she did so, she gasped as a feeling like all her insides were melting washed over her. She staggered back with a cry and fell to the ground.  
"Terna, what's wrong?" Susan asked, kneeling beside her. Terna grasped at her torso, breathing heavily as sweat bloomed on her forehead.  
"This is impossible," Terna whispered, shaking off Susan's helping hand and scrabbling to her feet. "There is not a single living thing in this entire forest, and these trees…they're not even stone. Stone is a natural ore found in the planet's surface." Terna's voice failed her as she turned to face the others. "It's unnatural, all of this is unnatural."  
"What do you mean, Terna?" the Doctor demanded.  
"What I mean, Time Lord, is that somehow this planet's Amina, it's very core existence that makes up the base of the world and all the beings its inhabited, has been ripped clean from it, making it completely empty." Terna felt faint, like her legs were made of jelly. She slumped down against a tree, curling into a ball as her limbs started to tremble as though she was overcome by a sudden chill.  
"Terna, you're not well," Barbara exclaimed, hurrying over to her.  
"Of course I'm not well," Terna snapped. "This planet goes against everything my people stand for. Its very nature is unholy, blasphemous. A place like this simply should not, cannot exist. "  
"What could have done this?" Susan asked, slight fear in her eyes.  
"I don't know," Terna admitted, sliding back to her feet for a third time. "If there were more Lyall in the universe, we would use our Psychic Amina to whip this abomination off the face of the universe, but there's only me left, and I'm not at my full strength. I don't know what I can do."  
"Well, there's one thing we can be certain of," the Doctor declared, "a simple forest fire didn't cause all of the Amina to be ripped from this world.""  
"Then what did cause it, Grandfather?" Susan asked.  
"I don't know, but I intend to find out," the Doctor replied before turning sharply and heading off deeper into the stone forest.  
"I'm coming to. I need to get to the bottom of this," Terna agreed, stumbling off after the Doctor and Susan.  
Ian and Barbara hung back. "Ian, where are we?" Barbara whispered.  
"I don't know," Ian admitted.  
"Why doesn't the Doctor take us back?"  
"I'm not sure that he can," Ian's voice was grim. He paused when he saw Barbara's face go very white. "I don't like it any more than you, but there's nothing we can do."  
"We could always stay near the ship," Barbara offered.  
"The ship's no good without him," Ian reminded her. "I suggest we keep an eye on him, as well as the other two. They seem to have a knack for getting themselves in trouble."  
"Do you think there's any danger?" Barbara inquired.  
"Not necessarily," Ian replied, "but we can't be too careful."  
"Then what are we to do?" Barbara exclaimed. "I just wish…" her voice broke.  
"Hey, we'll be alright," Ian reassured, gently patting her shoulder. "After all, you have me to protect you."  
Barbara smiled. "Yes, you're right. Well, I suppose we better make sure the Doctor doesn't fall down and break a leg, although he does kind of deserve it."  
"Yes, I suppose he does," Ian agreed.  
After a minute more, the two humans hurried off into the petrified brush after the three aliens.  
The group moved through the still, silent jungle at a slow, cautious pace. The Doctor took the lead with Terna trailing behind him, hugging herself so as to somehow retain a little self-control. Her insides felt all tight and jittery, and her nerves didn't help the feeling that she was about to explode. This place was all wrong, and it was freaking her out. But she couldn't leave; she had to find out the origin of this empty world.  
"Grandfather, look!" Susan, who was behind Terna, suddenly called, crouching down beside another of the stone trees. "It's a flower, a perfect flower. It's even still got some of its color." She was referring to a single, pale pink tulip-like flower that was growing out of a grove in the tree roots.  
"Yes, yes, very pretty," the Doctor murmured distractedly while Terna regarded the flower as though it might explode. Not a drop of Amina in it either.  
"Here. Look at this," Susan called to Ian and Barbara, who had just caught up with them.  
"Oh, that's beautiful." Ian showed much more interest in the flower, genuflecting beside Susan so as to get a better look.  
"Are you feeling any better, Terna?" Barbara inquired, steeping over Ian and Susan and moving closer to the Lyall. "You still look very pale."  
Terna licked her dry lips. "My own soul is fighting my body," she whispered. "Every pore in my being is screaming at me to get away, but I can't. I have to find out who made this world and stop it."  
"Who?" Barbara whispered.  
"Or what," Terna replied grimly. She turned to follow the Doctor, who had trudged on ahead. Barbara did as well, but suddenly stopped. "Ian," she called.  
"What?" Ian got up with such haste from his attempt at picking Susan's flower that he shattered it and left the shards in the poor girl's hands. He rushed to Barbara, who was frozen on the spot. Terna followed her gaze and soon saw why. Crouched on a rock a short ways from them was a giant, spiny lizard covered in a smooth, metallic skin and with giant, fat eyes. It was a still as a statue, and its glossy steel skin gleamed in the pale light.  
"_Sanctum inferno!_ * What is that?" Terna cried.  
Ian braced himself, taking a cautious step forward. "No!" Barbara gripped his arm and held him back just as the Doctor came back down the path after them. Slowly, Ian waved his hand in front of the still lizard's face. They all head their breath for the space of a heartbeat, but the creature didn't move.  
"It's alright," Ian reassured the others. "Just like everything else in this place, solid stone." He rapped his knuckles sharply on the creature's head to emphasize.  
"It's hideous," Barbara whispered.  
"And poisonous from the looks of it," Terna added gravely. "I wouldn't touch those spines." Ian quickly redrew his hand just as the Doctor approached the frozen creature.  
"Well, you're right about one thing, Chesterton. It is solidified, but it's not crumbling stone." The Doctor knocked his fist against the creature's side. "It's metal. It always was."  
"You mean it was alive when it was like this?" Ian cried, "but that's impossible."  
"Is it?" the Doctor smiled. "Are you incapable of processing life unless its flesh and bone?"  
"But it couldn't have been born this way," Terna insisted. "Artificial life of metal and electricity doesn't create itself; someone else has to make it. That's why it's called artificial."  
"Indeed, quite the puzzle. Care to solve it with me, Terna?" the Doctor continued to smile as he offered his arm to Terna in a half-joking fashion.  
Terna regarded him darkly. "This is not meant to be enjoyable, Time Lord," she stated. "There are forces at work here that are entirely malign; whatever it is that has created this abomination has strained the fabrics of the universe itself."  
"Morbid," the Doctor dropped his arm and then continued off down the path.  
"We aren't on earth anymore, that's for sure," Barbara whispered weakly.  
Ian nodded, looking dismayed. "Grandfather, look!" Susan, who had hurried ahead of her grandfather, called back to him. "The jungle ends over here."  
"What's beyond it?" Terna asked, rushing to keep up with the two humans close behind her. They broke the tree line out onto a kind of ridge or plateau. Beyond them, the ground slopped sharply downward to form a kind of cliff that then broadened out into a vast valley. The valley was completely bare and covered in the same ashy dirt as the forest. However, in the very center there was a gigantic city. It glistened in the open air with buildings made of pearly white stone, standing resolute and immaculate; the only pure item in amongst the otherwise dead and dusty world.  
"Fascinating!" the Doctor exclaimed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a pair of miniature  
binoculars.  
"Any sign of life, Doctor?" Ian inquired as he held them in front of his face.  
"No, no, no sign of life. Only buildings," the Doctor replied.  
"I'm not picking up any Amina readings either," Terna added, holding her glass in front of her face.  
"That doesn't really tell us anything," the Doctor mused.  
Terna whirled to face him. "Are you suggesting the astrological impossibly that a sentient life force can exist without their core genetic essence. I think not, you absurd old fool."  
"No not be so obtuse, Terna. We are standing on a planet entirely devoid of this substance you call Amina, another prospect that you claimed to be impossible and yet here it is."  
"Do you think there could be people down there, Doctor?" Barbara inquired before Terna could respond.  
"It's impossible to survive without Force Amina," Terna insisted.  
"Magnificent buildings," the Doctor continued, ignoring both of them as he trailed the scope of the binoculars across the scape of the city.  
"Ooh, can I see, Grandfather?" Susan asked, and the Doctor passed them to her. Susan took a look and then handed them to Barbara. Meanwhile, Ian pulled the Doctor and Terna aside.  
"What do you make of this?" he inquired of them.  
"I don't know; I don't know," the Doctor mused.  
"Whatever it was that destroyed the vegetation doesn't seem to have touched the city," Terna stated, "Yes, it's all very unusual. Well, I shall know more about it when I go down there," the Doctor declared.  
"Down there? Oh no, we're going back to the ship," Barbara asserted.  
"No, I agree. We should go down there," Terna shot back.  
Everyone gave her a curious look. "You're agreeing with me?" the Doctor exclaimed, surprised.  
Terna sighed. "Yes, I can't believe I just said that out loud. Anyway, there's a universal impossibility on this world and that city could hold the answer."  
"Yes, it is a prime specimen for study," the Doctor stated  
"Study? It's a matter that could threaten the existence of the entire universe," Terna cried.  
"Must you be so dramatic?" the Doctor turned to her with a look of exasperation. "Furthermore, I have no intention of leaving this world until that city is properly investigated," he added to the others.  
"Well, there's no point in talking about it now," Ian stopped the argument short, glancing skyward as he spoke. "It'll be dark soon. Let's discuss this further when we get back to the ship." Terna, having been so focused on the state of the planet itself had failed to notice the pallor of the scape growing dimmer as the weak sun slowly sank deeper into the ash-colored sky, the inky shadows trickling further across the parched ground. She shivered as her insides twisted.  
"Let's go back to the ship, Grandfather," Susan said to him. "There's no point in discussing this now."  
"Alright, but I'm determined to study that place," the Doctor announced.  
"You can do whatever you like," Ian replied dismissively. "As long as you don't endanger the rest of us…Terna, are you alright?" Ian lunged forward suddenly, and Terna collapsed unevenly into her arms. The Lyall had slumped forward, cursing her own weakness the whole way down. But it couldn't be  
helped; the emptiness of this world was gnawing at her from the inside, and it was driving her mad with the great gaping void it created inside her.  
"I'm fine. I just got a little giddy for a second," Terna insisted, wriggling out of Ian's grasp and taking a step back so as to lean against a nearby tree.  
"Yes, I think it's time we headed back to the ship. You're not well, Terna," Barbara agreed. "Come on." She tried to take Terna's arm, but the Lyall shook her off.  
"I don't need your help," she insisted, pushing past her and disappearing back into the steadily darkening woods.  
As they trudged back through the forest, the deafening silence pressed against the bodies of the five travelers. Terna took the lead with Barbara and Ian behind her and the Doctor and Susan bringing up the rear.  
"Are you sure this is the way we came, Terna?" Ian asked, cursing quietly as he stumbled over a protruding root.  
"Yes, and there is no need to doubt otherwise," Terna declared. "The TARDIS is the only thing aside for us on this entire planet that has Amina. That makes it as easy as finding an ink spot on a white garment. Furthermore…" Terna suddenly froze, a feeling like her blood turning to ice ran through her body.  
"What is it, Terna?" Barbara demanded.  
"Shh," Terna pressed a patronizing finger to her lips as she slowly turned around.  
"Why have we stopped?" the Doctor demanded, coming up behind Barbara and Ian who were watching Terna with bewildered expressions.  
"I said shut up," Terna hissed, her eyes scanning the stretches of bleak woods on either side of them. "I just felt a flicker of something living amongst all this void," she breathed to the others, pausing to lick her drying lips.  
"Are you certain you felt something?" the Doctor demanded.  
"Loud and clear, sharper than normal as nothing else on this planet exhibits any remnant of it." Terna paused. "Time Lord, where's Susan?"  
The Doctor spun around. "She was right behind me," he cried. At that moment, Susan's scream ripped through the silence.  
"Susan!" the Doctor took off running back down the path, Terna and the other two close behind.  
The Doctor collided head on with Susan who was stumbling along through the brush in a panicked frenzy.  
"Alright, Susan; it's alright," the Doctor attempted to console the terror-stricken girl as she buried her face in his chest.  
"What's happened?" Terna demanded, coming up behind them.  
"It touched me. Something touched me!" Susan cried.  
"Now, don't be ridiculous, child," the Doctor exclaimed. "There's no life on this world. Nothing is out there to harm you; you must have imagined it."  
"No, I didn't," Susan insisted. "There was something there."  
"She could very well be right," Terna mused. "I did feel some spark of life somewhere in these woods that wasn't far from us. It was faint and fleeting, but it was still there."  
The Doctor shot her a 'you're not helping' glare before throwing his arm around Susan's shoulder and ushering her back in the direction of the TARDIS. The young girl sniffled wearily.  
"What was it, do you think?" Barbara asked as the Doctor lead his granddaughter past her and Ian.  
Terna regarded them; her expression grim. "I don't wish to alarm you, but I don't think we're entirely alone on this planet." 

Terna reclined on the Greek sofa on the TARDIS Bridge, admiring the shine of her newly painted nails poking out of her open-toed heels. She glanced up when she heard the Doctor enter.  
"Is Susan alright?" she asked lazily.  
"Barbara's talking to her," the Doctor replied. "I tried to convince her that there was nothing out there in the woods, but she wouldn't be dissuaded. I thought Barbara might have better luck." He paused in front of Terna. "Would you sit up? That's not your couch, you know."  
Terna scowled. "Why should I?"  
"Must you question everything I say?" the Doctor snapped, annoyed, as he lightly wacked Terna in the ankle with the butt of his cane. Reluctantly, Terna pulled her knees into her chest, allowing the Doctor room to sit down beside her.  
"Did you know I won this couch in a poker match against Julius Caesar? I think you'd like him; he was a horribly unpleasant person."  
"Tiberius was worse," Terna replied, ignoring the jab. "Also, since when did Roman Emperors play poker?" The Doctor didn't answer. Terna examined him keenly as he fumbled with his handkerchief.  
"You're put off by something," she observed. "Worried about Susan?"  
"Of course I am," the Doctor snapped, "she was thrown into hysterics out there, and my best attempts to console her failed. Sometimes I find the age gap between Susan and myself to be quite unnerving." "Having single parent troubles?" Terna snickered. The Doctor regarded her with a look of confusion. "Susan told me her parents were dead, and she was raised as a child in an orphanage. Did you only recently find her and gain custody as her last living relative?"  
"Susan and are aren't blood related. She simply calls me grandfather as she has nothing else to call me."  
"And because calling someone simply 'Doctor' is just stupid," Terna added. "However, I do not think she merely calls you grandfather but considers you to be such as well. She speaks fondly of you."  
"Well, that's _one_ person."  
Terna snorted. "Don't take it personally; you're a hard person to like."  
"As are you," the Doctor replied, chuckling slightly. Terna sat up, laughing as well, and her eyes met with the Doctor's for a brief moment. Something passed across both their faces in that brief instant, and Terna got a good look at his eyes for the first time. There was something odd about them. At first, she'd merely deduced it was because they looked so young as opposed to the rest of the Doctor's body, which appeared so old. However, now that Terna thought about it, there was something else…  
At that moment, there was an abrupt clatter. Both the Doctor and Terna whirled around to see Ian had stumbled headlong into the console.  
"Oh, sorry am I interrupting something?" Ian asked, pulling himself off the console rather breathlessly.  
"_Propter Duem_*, do you have two left feet?" Terna exclaimed in exasperation as the Doctor jumped to his feet and hurried over to the console just as Ian was pulling himself off it.  
"Sorry, I just got a little dizzy for a moment," Ian exclaimed sheepishly.  
"Get up, before you break something else," the Doctor snapped at him, pushing Ian aside so as it examine the console, wiping flecks of dirt from Ian's sweater off the surface.  
Ian gazed down at the vast array of buttons and knobs while the Doctor fiddled with a few of them. "I don't know how you make sense of all this."  
"You're quite right; you're quite right," the Doctor murmured distractedly, ignoring Ian as he fumbled with the buttons.  
"Have you found out where we are yet?" Ian added.  
"Hmm?" the Doctor glanced up.  
"Where are we?" Ian repeated, "Do you know?"  
"My dear boy, these are terrible questions of yours."  
"Listen, Doctor, I don't want to argue with you, but we are fellow travelers whether you like it or not. For heaven's sake, try to see it from our point of view!" Ian cried, "You ripped us violently from our own lives-."  
"Actually, you pushed your way into the ship," Terna interrupted from her spot on the couch.  
"Alright, a small part of the blame is on us," Ian admitted.  
"Ha! Small," the Doctor laughed.  
"But naturally we are anxious," Ian continued. "What are we going to do if the TARDIS continues to malfunction like this? What if we can't get home? Can we live here? What can we eat?"  
"Oh, will you stop whining," Terna cried, getting to her feet.  
"Says the pot to the kettle," the Doctor grumbled.  
"Shut up, Time Lord," Terna spat, holding out her hand to Ian. "If you want food then here: have an apple."  
Both the Doctor and Ian stopped short in their bickering; the Doctor's eyes grew wide as he saw that Terna was sporadically holding out a perfect green apple to Ian as though there was nothing abnormal about it.  
"Terna, where did you get that?" the Doctor demanded.  
Terna glanced down at the apple, seemingly surprised to find herself holding it and even more surprised when she attempted to figure out how she'd come upon it. "Umm, I found it…" Terna's voice trailed off. The Doctor crossed the room in two strides and snatched the apple from her hand.  
"It just popped out of thin air; I saw it," Ian exclaimed.  
"What did?" Barbara inquired upon entering the bridge with Susan.  
"Grandfather, what's going on?" Susan added. The Doctor, for once, ignored her. He was too busy investigating Terna's insta-apple from all sides.  
"This just appeared in your grasp, but how?" the Doctor demanded, more to himself than anyone else.  
"I don't see the problem here. It's obvious the TARDIS gave it to me," Terna stated simply.  
"What? But the TARDIS doesn't do that," Susan cried.  
Terna whirled on her. "What? What are you talking about?"  
"The TARDIS doesn't give you food by itself. We have a machine to make food-supplement squares that can taste however you want it."  
Terna's eyes widened. "But when I was wandering the TARDIS halls, I came across a room simply filled with food, actual food not just flavor squares."  
"How?" Susan looked to the Doctor. "How is that possible, Grandfather?"  
The Doctor didn't respond; he fingered the apple in his hand. "Terna," he finally asked. "When you came across this table full of food, where you hungry at the time?"  
"Uh, yes, starving actually," Terna admitted.  
"Ah, yes, then it makes perfect sense."  
"What do you mean, Doctor?" Ian asked.  
"It would seem, my dear Terna," the Doctor grinned as he strolled up to Terna and placed the apple in her hand. "You brought the food to you through your desire for it; you pulled it out of time and sent it to here to the TARDIS."  
Terna blinked. "What?"  
"How could she have done that?" Susan asked.  
"Have you forgotten, Susan? Terna is a part of the TARDIS now, and it seems she's able to harness a fraction of its power."  
"That's absurd!" Terna cried, shoving the apple back into the Doctor's hands.  
"All of you is absurd, Terna," the Doctor replied. "You are a scientific impossibility, no one should be able to exist within the Heart of the TARDIS and yet there you are." The Doctor pointed to the console where Terna knew her Core and all of her Force Amina resided, under the TARDIS Bridge, entangled in the Heart.  
Ian looked from Terna to the Doctor. "I have absolutely no idea what you two are talking about."  
"No matter," the Doctor brushed him aside, taking the apple and biting into it. "Job well done, by the way, Terna. This is delicious."  
"You're insane," Terna declared.  
"Do you think you could make other foods?" Susan inquired.  
"I don't know, maybe," Terna replied. She glanced around the TARDIS and spied an antique table nestled in the corner. Closing her eyes, Terna focused her attention on the energy of the TARDIS pulsing around her as well as the gnawing of hunger in her hollow stomach. She felt an odd warm sensation at the tips of her fingers that then spread out to cover her entire body. She heard a gasp from Ian, Barbara, and Susan. Opening her eyes, Terna saw that the table was now filled with a hearty breakfast including toast, bacon, eggs, fruits, hash browns, porridge, and coffee.  
"Remarkable," Barbara cried.  
"I don't believe it," Ian added.  
"Well, um, dig in, I guess," Terna stepped back as Ian, Barbara, and Susan all rushed to the table and gathered up platefuls of the food.  
"Thank you, Terna," Barbara said to her.  
"Let's just hope mine doesn't taste of Ancient Greece," Ian added with a smirk as he heaped a pile of scrambled eggs onto his plate.  
Unlike the others, the Doctor held back beside Terna, munching the apple thoughtfully. He stopped when he caught her looking at him.  
"Time Lord?" Terna asked warily. The Doctor lowered the apple and fixed her with a guarded look. "What have we here?" he whispered, leaning in closer to Terna who shrank back slightly from him. "What is the true extent of your power, Terna. What are you?"  
"I think the proper question is what I am becoming," Terna replied guardedly. "I didn't have these kinds of abilities before, and I don't know what they could be capable of."  
"Indeed," the Doctor nodded.  
"This is delicious, Terna. You should really try it, Grandfather," Susan called to them.  
"Yeah, it's not bad. The bacon's a bit salty though," Ian added.  
Terna shot him a murderous glare. "Well, it shouldn't be. It's English," the Doctor added which caused Barbara and Susan to start laughing.  
"Oh come of it, Doctor, and grab a plate," Ian called jovially to him.  
The Doctor obliged. Terna plopped down on the Egyptian throne, the folds of her blue skirt rippling out around her as she fashioned another green apple in her hand and took a bite. The Doctor sat down on the Greek sofa beside her with a bowl of porridge. "Chesterton ought to give you more credit," he grumbled. "It's not easy to pull solid matter through the Time Vortex."  
"I'm glad to see you're impressed with me, Time Lord," Terna replied with a smirk. "As you very well should be; I'm pretty amazing."  
"And your humility precedes you," the Doctor grumbled sarcastically.  
"So says you," Terna shot back, "a humble Time Lord is an oxymoron."  
"Are you two fighting again?" Susan called over to them before the Doctor could respond. They lapsed into silence for a few moments; the Doctor spooning porridge into his mouth while Terna ate her apple. "Did you know that the apple is the oldest fruit in the universe?" Terna asked, examining her own thoughtfully. "Every single planet has a variation of it somewhere on their world. Maybe the planet we're on now even did once."  
"This place is truly unnerving to you, isn't it?" the Doctor asked  
"As it very well should be. I'd be mad not to be greatly disturbed by this place."  
"As it goes against everything you as a Lyall were created for," the Doctor mused.  
"Time Lord," Terna turned to face the Doctor completely. "I have a reason for wishing to explore this empty world, but why do you want to?"  
"Another thing about us Time Lords, my dear Terna, is that we are as curious as we are prideful," the Doctor replied with a wry smile.  
"_Suum cique_,*" Terna replied dryly.  
"Oh, Barbara, what's wrong?" Ian cried, redirecting Terna and the Doctor's attention.  
"Nothing terribly, Ian; I just got a sudden headache," Barbara replied, rubbing her forehead.  
"Oh, Grandfather, don't we have a medication for that?" Susan asked, jumping to her feet.  
"Yes, I believe we keep it in the cabinet on the console next to the fax machine," the Doctor replied.  
"Why do you need a fax machine?" Terna asked at the same time Ian asked: "What's a fax machine?"  
Susan perused the console for a few moments before opening up a small cabinet and taking out a bottle of pills. She collected a glass of water from the table and handed a pill and the water to Barbara, who thanked her and took it down in one gulp.  
"That ought to cure you right away," the Doctor mused as she drank the water.  
"How you feeling?" Ian asked when she finished.  
"Much better," Barbara replied. "It's funny; I don't usually get headaches."  
"You're probably exhausted," Susan suggested.  
"Yes, probably, I think I'll go to bed," Barbara declared, standing up as well.  
"Alright, I'll show you where you can sleep," Susan offered, when suddenly there was a sharp tapping sound. Everyone froze; Terna's heart stood still. The tapping noise came again a few seconds later then repeated again at a more rhythmic pace. It was coming from just outside the TARDIS door.  
"What is that?" Ian breathed.  
"The scanner," the Doctor hissed, rushing over to the console and activating the screen that displayed what was outside.  
"I knew someone was there," Susan added definitively as everyone gathered around the view screen.  
When the image came into clarity, it showed nothing but the still, dark forest as empty as when they'd left it.  
"There's nothing there," Ian declared.  
"But something must have made that noise," Susan insisted.  
"Oh, I've had enough of this," Barbara cried. "Can't we get out of here?" she asked the Doctor.  
"No, we can't leave yet," Terna asserted.  
"Yes, there's the city; I must see the city," the Doctor agreed.  
"But why?" Barbara demanded.  
"I will not be questioned," the Doctor shot Barbara down.  
"Why do you insist on endangering the rest of us by staying here?" Ian cried.  
"Grandfather, please, let's leave," Susan pleaded with her Grandfather. The Doctor paused, noting Susan's wide, terror-filled eyes. Sighing, he moved over to the controls and pulled the lever to start the TARDIS; the stunted humming could be heard  
"What are you doing?" Terna cried. "We can't leave without knowing what made this impossible world. We can't leave now. Time Lord!" Terna shouted, but the Doctor ignored her. However, there was suddenly a series of high-pitched popping noises and then a loud bang that sent a tremor throughout the bridge.  
"What's happened?" Barbara cried.  
"I think we've landed," Terna observed.  
"But how can we have? We just took off!" Ian exclaimed.  
The Doctor, meanwhile, had bent down and opened a hatch under the control panel and took out a small glass vial. "Oh, I see, the fluid link," he announced, holding the vial aloft. "It would seem it unscrewed itself and all the fluid's run out."  
"Well, have you got a spare?" Ian demanded.  
"Oh there's no need for that," the Doctor replied simply. "We can just refill it and for that all we need is some mercury."  
"Oh, excellent! Where is it? I'll get it for you," Ian offered.  
"Oh, we don't have any," the Doctor replied.  
"What?" Ian was aghast. "Don't you carry a supply?"  
"No, we haven't any need; this has never happened before," the Doctor explained.  
"You must have some surely as just a safety precaution," Ian protested.  
"No, none at all; we'll have to get some from outside," the Doctor asserted.  
Terna stood silently, watching the Doctor argue with Ian. Odd that a ship as well-stocked and bountiful as the TARDIS wouldn't have something as simple as a spare vial of mercury.  
"But where would we find mercury out there?" Barbara demanded. "There isn't anything out there but stone."  
"Yes, there is," the Doctor cast a sideways glance at Terna. "There's the city."  
Terna arched an eyebrow. "Yes, of course; we're bound to get some mercury there!" the Doctor continued.  
"It would seem we have no alternative; we'll have to go back to the city," Ian stated dryly.  
Terna glanced from him to the Doctor. When her eyes met with the latter, he saw her subtly wink at her. She fought to suppress a smile.

The following morning, after getting very little sleep, everyone gathered once more in the Bridge. Terna strode in second only to the Doctor, once again dressed in her original blue halter dress that had recently been cleansed and repaired. Her braided hair was draped loosely over her shoulder as it spilled out from around her Stellae Octo crown and Susan's pearls wound their way through the silvery strands. Everyone gathered around the scanner and the image of the bleak, grey, eerily empty forest met them.  
"Well, it's light enough; we might as well get started," Ian declared grimly. "Oh, and Doctor, we're going to this city to find mercury; once we've found it, we're coming straight back here. Do you understand?"  
"Yes, of course," the Doctor replied with an innocent smile. Terna bit her lip to contain a laugh.  
With that, they exited the TARDIS. Terna had second thoughts about leaving the ship almost as soon as they stepped out. Her heart plummeted into her stomach as all the color left her face, and a series of pins and needles shot up and down her bare arms. She hugged herself, grip tightening on her trusty magnifying glass.  
"Hey, look at that!" Ian cried. Everyone glanced down to see that they had almost walked right past a small, metal box about the size of a pencil case inconspicuously lying on the forest floor.  
"Don't touch it, Ian; it could be a bomb," Barbara warned as he bent down to investigate.  
"What is it Chesterton?" the Doctor asked, crouching beside him.  
"I don't know," Ian replied.  
"I don't think it's a bomb," Terna asserted.  
"Can't be too careful though. Stand back, all of you," Ian instructed the others as he snatched a long tree branch from the ground. They obliged, and Ian slowly leaned forward, gently prodding the box with the very tip of the stick. Everyone covered their faces. Nothing. Ian tapped the box twice on top and then whacked it against the side.  
"I think it's alright," he announced. "It's just an ordinary box."  
"Here, let me see," the Doctor asked as he and the others all gathered around Ian. He opened the box and pulled out one of many glass vials all lined up neatly inside.  
"Huh, very peculiar," he mused.  
"Here, let me see," Terna asked. The Doctor passed the bottle to her, and Terna held her magnifying glass up to it.  
"Looks to be some kind of DNA synthesized strand," she announced after a moment's scrutiny.  
"So, there was someone here last night," Susan exclaimed. "Whoever, it was must have dropped this box."  
"Yes, sorry we didn't believe you, Susan," Ian apologized.  
"Needless to say, I'd like to run a few tests on these." The Doctor took the vial back from Terna and gave the whole box to Susan. "Susan, would you put these in the ship," he instructed his granddaughter who nodded and quickly did so.  
"Oh, and did you remember the food supply?" the Doctor asked once she'd reemerged.  
"Yes, a day's worth just as you asked," Susan replied, patting the pouch full of flavor squares resting at her side.  
"I don't think we should be more than a couple of hours," Ian declared.  
"Yes, come along everyone." The Doctor ignored Ian's statement, and everyone headed off into the woods bound for the city beyond.

"The term ghost town comes to mind," Terna announced. The sun beat down overhead through the grey cloud layer signifying it had been several hours since leaving the TARDIS. After the darkness of the forest and the rugged terrain of the cliff side, the bright, white, emptiness of the city was a stark contrast. Smooth polished buildings rose up from all sides, springing neatly up like pillars from an equally white metal platform. There wasn't a speck of natural land anywhere, not even a park or a garden; everything was covered in some kind of artificial material. And, just like the view from the cliff, there didn't seem to be any signs of life.  
"Might I sit down for a minute?" the Doctor asked breathlessly as Susan led him over to a nearby wall, and he leaned against it.  
"Are you alright?" Ian inquired as the Doctor slumped into a sitting position.  
"Yes, yes, just a little tired," the Doctor replied dismissively.  
"How about you, Terna?" Ian inquired.  
Terna, who'd been trailing the view of her magnifying glass across the side of a nearby building, shot him a dirty look.  
"No signs of life," she declared. "Nothing in this city but empty buildings it would seem."  
"Perhaps the inhabitants all fled because of what happened to the forest," Susan offered.  
"That would be the most plausible explanation," the Doctor agreed.  
"Here, you rest and we'll search for the mercury," Barbara offered him.  
"No, I want to look around too," the Doctor insisted. "I'll be alright in a minute."  
"I must say, I don't feel too good myself," Ian mused, rubbing his forehead. "We best find what we need quickly."  
"Right, look for instruments, gauges, ideally what we really need is a laboratory," Terna instructed the others.  
Barbara nodded, turning from the wall; as she did so, a door in said wall suddenly appeared sliding open to reveal a gloomy hallway.  
Barbara and Ian exchanged a glance. "Why don't we separate and go different ways; we'll cover more ground that way," Ian suggested.  
"Right, I'll go this way," Barbara stated, moving towards the door she'd accidentally opened.  
"Alright, Susan, help me up," the Doctor asked, and his granddaughter aided him in getting to his feet. "We'll head further along these stretch of buildings," he added to Ian and Terna.  
The latter nodded. "I guess I'm stuck with you, human," she added to Ian.  
Ian didn't respond to her quip; he was too busy absentmindedly waving his hands in front of an identical door on the opposite wall from the one Barbara had just walked through.  
"It's motion detected," Terna informed him. Ian continued his senseless waving. "Like this." Slightly exasperated, Terna leaned forward and moved her hand over a small sensory pad beside the closed door. There was a faint hum, and then it slowly slid open.  
"Oh, I see," Ian exclaimed brightly. "Like automatic sliding doors at the mall."  
Terna fixed him with an odd look. "Yeah. Sure."  
Ian then passed through the door and into the long, looming hallway beyond with Terna close behind him.  
"Terna, wait up!" she whirled around to see Susan come up behind her with the Doctor half-walking, half-leaning on his granddaughter beside her. Terna arched an eyebrow.  
"Back so soon?"  
"All of the doors along the street that we tried were securely locked, even after we attempted to motion activate them," the Doctor explained.  
"I see. Better come with us then," Terna recommended, and the two Time Lords agreed, moving to follow her and Ian down the halls. As they walked, a faint humming sound could be heard followed by the strained whine as a serious of exhausted bulbs slowly fizzled to life, illuminating a pale, empty hallway lined with minimal doors and not a single window. Entrances that lead to more hallways, branching off from the main, showed them all to be identical to the first.  
"It's like a labyrinth down here," Susan observed.  
"Yes, easy to get lost. I hope Barbara hasn't," Ian added.  
Terna walked along silently, trailing her magnifying glass across every inch of space. "Everything is artificial," she mused. "There isn't a drop of organic matter in this entire place. Not a single thing to quell my nerves."  
At this point, they reached the end of the hall and another closed door. Ian waved his hand across the sensory system, but the door didn't budge. Ian tried again and then a third time. "It's locked," he said to the others.  
"But that's the only way further in," Susan observed.  
"Perhaps we should go back then?" Ian offered. "I think it was a mistake to split up and leave Barbara alone like this. Let's go back to where we left her and wait for her there."  
The others agreed, and they all made their way back down the corridor out into the main square where they had first branched off. It had been a good ten minutes since then, but Barbara was nowhere to be seen.  
"Barbara?" Ian called; moving to open the door Barbara had first went through. "Barbara?" he called into it. No response.  
"Figures, she got lost," Terna mused grimly.  
"Oh, this is all my fault," Ian cried. "I was the one who suggested we split up."  
"Don't go beating yourself up about it," Terna asserted. "She didn't exactly object to the idea."  
"Terna, hush," the Doctor suddenly ordered.  
"I wasn't talking to you-" Terna snapped back.  
"I said shut up and listen," the Doctor cut her off. There was a brief pause, and the silence it gave made apparent what sounded like a faint, rhythmic clicking wafting from within the hall that Barbara had vanished into.  
"I can hear a ticking noise," Susan exclaimed.  
"Is it a clock?" Terna wondered aloud.  
"Quiet and listen," the Doctor ordered them both as the group began to move towards the direction of the noise and stealthily follow it down the winding hall, identical to the first. The ticking got louder the further they went, which only saw to increase their curiosity. They all froze suddenly after going a few dozen paces.  
"It stopped," Susan exclaimed.  
"Wait. There it is again," Terna stated as the noise began again.  
"It's coming from in here," Ian cried, gesturing to a door in the wall a short ways done the corridor. The door opened manually unlike the others, and Ian quickly thrust it open. The room beyond was dimly lit but the faint outlines of long tables laden with an assortment of unusual objects, mechanical in origin, as well as various machines standing still and silent in the corner gave the illusion of some kind of workshop.  
"Well, this looks promising," Ian exclaimed. "There's bound to be some mercury in here." With that, he began rooting through some nearby boxes.  
The Doctor, meanwhile, continued to follow the ticking sound until he came across what looked like the hybrid child of a fax machine and a typewriter.  
"Ah, here it is!" he announced.  
"What's that thing?" Terna demanded.  
"You really are technologically challenged, aren't you?" the Doctor asked smugly. "It's a measuring device," he continued as Terna's expression shot daggers. "The question is: what's it measuring?"  
"Any idea?" Ian came up behind them.  
"Not particularly," the Doctor replied. "These readings are hard to decipher."  
Ian glanced around the dark shop. "I wonder what sort of people these are," he mused.  
"Were, they can't be alive anymore," Terna reminded him.  
"Whoever they are…where, they were most likely incredibly intelligent," the Doctor stated.  
"Yes, but how did they use their intelligence?" Ian wondered. "What form did it take?"  
"Oh, that doesn't matter," the Doctor waved the question aside.  
"Grandfather, come look at this," Susan, who had wandered to the back of the room, called. She was standing next to a large computer with a frantic needle moving back and forth across the top end of a spectrum grid. "It's a Geiger counter."  
"What's that do?" Terna inquired.  
"It measures radiation levels," the Doctor explained.  
"Wait. Look where this is!" Ian cried, pointing to the needle on the machine. "Well into the red danger zone."  
Susan's eyes widened. "But that would mean this entire planet is toxic!"  
Terna felt the color drain from her face.  
"That would explain a lot of things wouldn't it?" the Doctor calmly mused. "The entire forest turning to stone, Barbara's headache, the dizziness and fatigue we've been feeling."  
"Hold on," Terna whirled on the Doctor. "Are you saying you had the full intention of exploring the city when you knew full well that this entire planet was contaminated with radiation?"  
"Of course not," the Doctor asserted. "I'm not a fool as to risk my own life for scientific research."  
"Could have fooled me," Ian grumbled.  
"I had no idea that the radiation was at this level," the Doctor ignored him.  
"How could you not?" Terna cried. "The TARDIS has a radiation measuring device on the computer. Why didn't you check it?"  
"I did. I checked it when we landed," The Doctor shot back.  
"Back when we landed? The computer hadn't been exposed to the radiation long enough to get a proper reading, you moron. You should know that!" Terna cried, her voice growing shrill.  
"It's not as if you've been much help in figuring this out," the Doctor snapped. "You sensed something wrong in the air, but your spiritual nonsense couldn't tell that it was radiation, now could it? Where's the machines when you need them, eh, Terna?"  
"Would you two shut up?!" Ian cried. He turned to the Doctor. "So, we've got radiation sickness?" he asked, fighting to keep his voice calm.  
The Doctor nodded. "Yes, the atmosphere of this world is contaminated, and we've been walking around in it completely unprotected."  
"But the buildings are all intact," Ian exclaimed.  
"A neutron bomb then," the Doctor murmured, "a specific kind of chemical weapon that produces mass destruction to all living tissues, leaving what's artificial intact."  
"That would explain this city," Terna whispered.  
"But how bad has the radiation affected us?" Ian demanded. "What are we going to do?"  
"We need drugs," the Doctor replied.  
"Where are we going to get those?" Terna asked.  
"The TARDIS will have to take us to another time and place so we can be treated," Susan explained grimly.  
"But don't you remember?" Ian was trying, and failing, to remain calm. "We can't move the TARDIS without the fluid link."  
"Ah yes, the fluid link," the Doctor murmured, dropping his eyes. "I'm afraid I may have cheated you on that." Ian whipped his way, eyes wide. "I was determined to see the city, but everyone but Terna wanted to leave," he quickly explained. "In short, there's nothing wrong with the fluid link." He passed it to Ian so he could see it properly. He stared at it; his mouth open in shock.  
"What?" Susan was aghast. "Grandfather, are you saying that you risked leaving the safety of the TARDIS just to see this place?"  
"You fool. You old fool!" Ian cried.  
"Like I said; you've got no sense," Terna added.  
"Don't you go accusing me too, Terna," the Doctor snapped at her. "I knew you wanted to see the city as bad as I did. You should be grateful."  
"Grateful!" Terna cried. "I didn't know that coming to this place was going to cause me to shrivel up and die. I just go this body, Time Lord; I have no intention of losing it so quickly."  
"Alright fine," the Doctor put his foot down. "There's no point in arguing. We need to return to the ship immediately before we get any worse."  
"No. We're not leaving without Barbara," Ian replied sharply.  
"Fine. You can stay here and search for her. Susan, Terna, and I will go back to the ship," the Doctor replied.  
"I doubt you'll get far without this," Ian replied, holding the fluid link that he still had clasped tightly in his hand.  
The Doctor's mouth parted slightly in surprise. "Give that to me," he insisted.  
"No."  
"Give it to me!" the Doctor snarled.  
"No. Listen to me, Doctor; it's time you faced up to your responsibilities. You got us here so you're taking us back," Ian stated coldly.  
The Doctor was about to respond, but he suddenly went very pale and stumbled backward, handing grasping at his brow.  
"Grandfather!" Susan cried, all anger at him diminishing as she rushed to help him stay upright.  
"Very well, let's just find Barbara quickly," the Doctor cried breathlessly.  
"Serves you right," Terna grumbled, following behind Ian and Susan as they helped the Doctor back into the hall.  
"We don't have much time though," the Doctor continued once he had gotten his wind back and was able to lean against the wall for support.  
"How are we going to find Barbara in this huge place?" Susan cried.  
Terna glanced around, turning her thoughts over in her mind. "Alright, I've got an idea," she announced. "I'll stay here and look for Barbara while the rest of you head back to the TARDIS."  
"But what about you and Barbara?" Ian demanded.  
"I'll be fine; I'm less affected by the radiation then the rest of you," Terna insisted. "Also, I'll be able to find her and get us both back to the ship much faster than any of you by detecting Barbara's Force Amina amongst all this emptiness."  
"Alright. You better not be too long though," the Doctor grumbled, shoving off the wall. "Otherwise, we're leaving without you."  
"Be careful," Susan added.  
Terna nodded. The other three then turned and headed off down the hall towards the direction of the exit. Terna felt their presence slip away almost immediately and then the emptiness pressing in on her from all sides. Without the Force Amina beating within their bodies to soothe her, she was now left amongst the void. Terna shivered, feeling pins and needles up her bare arms as she turned and sprinted off down the other hall. She moved at a rapid pace, scanning her mental processes for any spark of life that would indicate Barbara was nearby. At one point, when she was about to turn a corner, Terna froze. She scanned her immediate surroundings; nothing seemed to have apparently changed. The halls were still as bare and blank as before. However, she felt an unnerving sensation in her veins that told her she was being watched. Taking a deep breath, Terna fought to center herself. Closing her eyes, she unfolded her influence out from within her skin like a flower slowly opening its petals. As she spread her psychic fingers wider, hunting desperately for signs of Force Amina, she suddenly heard a loud banging. The noise shattered straight through the silence and the emptiness. Terna squeezed her eyes shut, trying to piece back together her broken concentration. No such luck, the banging continued, relentless and erratic. What was the source of that noise? Then she heard it: "Is anyone there?" Barbara's voice, weak and faint but still recognizable. Terna's eyes snapped open. Scanning the hall, she quickly zeroed in on the source of the noise. A short ways from here there was another closed door and the sound of frantic pounding and Barbara's cries could be heard from behind the thick metal.  
"Barbara?" Terna called, rushing up to the wall and placing her hands upon it. She could feel the faint hum of electronic light, and it mixed with the crackling, lightning-like sensation of pulsing human thought and feeling. There was a pause and then: "Terna? Is that you?" Barbara asked quietly.  
"Yeah, it's me. Ian sent me to find you," Terna quickly explained. "There's too much to explain and not enough time, but we need to get out of here and find the others right away." At this, Terna searched around for a sensory system, but there seemed to be none anywhere around the door frame. "How do you open this thing?"  
"I don't know," Barbara cried. "Both doors to this room on either side shut and locked behind me, and I've been trapped here ever since."  
"Luckily that hasn't been long," Terna reassured, "but have you been banging and hollering like that this whole time?"  
"Yes, I was desperate to escape," Barbara replied.  
"Well, that doesn't matter now," Terna brushed the conversation aside as she began running her fingers across the smooth, sturdy surface of the door, pressing lightly against it. The door seemed to be a good three to four inches thick, and the slight pressure she applied did little more than assert this factor more clearly.  
"Can't you get it open?" Barbara cried.  
"No, there's no sensory motor on this side either," Terna replied through gritted teeth. "Then how are you supposed to open it?" She pressed her palm against the door and spread her fingers open in a fan, attempting to thread her Amina into the material, but it did even less than when she'd tried to erode the stone walls of the Cave of Skulls. Terna cursed quietly, but got no response from Barbara.  
"Barbara?" she called.  
"Terna, hush," Barba hissed, a frantic edge to her voice.  
"What is it?" Terna whispered.  
"I hear something coming," Barbara cried. "There's something sliding along the floor. Oh, please hurry up and get it open."  
Terna heard it now too: a faint, muffled scuffing noise of something very heavy moving across the smooth floors at a rapid pace.  
"Terna open the door," Barbara wailed.  
"I'm trying," Terna threw her weight against the door again and again, flooding her Psychic Amina into it but to no avail. Terna swore in desperation, her hand suddenly grasping the handle of her magnifying glass sticking out of her dress pocket.  
"Terna, they're coming closer!" Barbara cried. "I can hear them through the other door. Terna!"  
With clenched teeth, Terna suddenly raised her glass up and brought it down against the door. There was a flash of pale yellow light and the sharp crack of splintering metal as a beam of light encircled the head of the glass and cut the door neatly in half. Barbara was on the other side as the two halves of the door fell away; her mouth open in shock. Terna's expression looked similar as she stared down at the glass; the beam of light had vanished, but a faint yellow aura still lingered around the object.  
"How did you do that?" Barbara asked.  
"I don't know-" Terna stopped as the sound of weighted friction against the ground came into clarity. Barbara spun around and froze as the doors that lead out of the opposite end of the room suddenly slid open and monstrous shapes filled the space it left behind. Barbara gasped in a strangled cry of shock, staggering back over the threshold into the hall. Terna stood, mouth and eyes wide in terror as the creatures slid fully into view. She felt them more than she saw them and what Terna felt was enough to make her heart change places with her stomach. Then her adrenaline exploded within her, and the single action of escape blared in the foreground of her mind.  
"Run!" she screamed, snatching Barbara's hand, and they took off down the hall. Frantic, the two women sprinted at as fast a pace as they could, the white walls winding around them on all sides. Terna didn't dare glance back to see if they were being pursued but she momentarily felt a kind of heat at her ankles. Not caring what it was, they kept going until a door slid away before them and shut again just as they crossed the threshold, blocking them from the creatures. But neither Terna nor Barbara slowed. They kept on running along until they reached the bend of a sharp corner. At this, both skittered slightly and nearly lost their balance, staggering headlong into the Doctor, Ian, and Susan who seemed to have sprouted out of nowhere like a patch of clover.  
"Barbara!" Ian cried with relief as she collapsed into his arms, but his face soon diminished back to grave concern when he saw the state she was in. "What's happened?" he cried. Barbara didn't respond; her lips were very white.  
"Time Lord, we have to get out of here; we have to get out here now," Terna, who had rushed into the Doctor and almost knocked him to the ground, cried frantically.  
"Terna, if this is another spider, I swear to God-," the Doctor began, grabbing her wrists to contain her, but Terna cut him off.  
"No, it's not. This is something far worse. Something entirely blasphemous and impossible."  
"What?" the Doctor demanded. He got his answer. The doors behind them slid open. Terna whirled around, feeling the sound of her icy blood pounding in her temple; it mixed with the ringing cry of the creatures as they barreled forward:  
"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

A/N: Three guesses what those are!

*Translation:  
_Sanctum inferno! _: Holy hell!  
_Propter Duem_: For God's sake  
_Suum cique_: To each his own


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Last title change, I promise! I've been juggling with a few title options for a while and was never really satisfied with the previous two. Then I read a poem and I took this title from it. Said poem is now featured in the prologue.

Chapter 8: Dalek

Terna felt like her insides had turned to ice. Her frigid blood pounded thickly in her skull, and her breath caught in her throat as she watched the creatures that had pursued her and Barbara through the empty halls slide further into view. They were huge, bulky, and built like a tank with sleek, polished metal bodies. The tops of their heads came together in a dome with a pair of glass cylinders sticking out of the top like horns. The most alarming features on their bodies, however, were small whisk-shaped guns sticking out of the creatures' side and a large, plunger-like nozzle protruding from the center of the 'face'.  
"What are those things?" Barbara cried.  
"Intruders. You. Must. Be. Detained!" one of the creatures cried in a strained, metallic voice. The glass horns on its head lit up when it spoke like a pair of light bulbs.  
Terna felt the Doctor's grip on her wrist tighten, and it snapped her back into clarity; everything around her was sharp with adrenaline, and she could feel tremors running up and down her limbs. Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched the creatures draw steadily closer, guns poised. They were wrong. Everything about them was entirely wrong. She felt it. She felt the emptiness inside the machines. Not a speck of Light, not a shard of Amina. They were entirely empty. The Void incarnate. They were monstrous, unnatural, and worst of all: familiar. Terna felt like something was squirming in the back of her mind; something pounding against her skull. _Remember_ it was screaming. _Remember these creatures!  
_"You. Are. Surrounded." More of the creatures came up behind the group of travelers as they stood huddled together in the middle of the hall. "There. Is. No. Chance. Of. Escape. Come. Quietly. Or. You. Will. Be. Exterminated!"  
Terna couldn't breathe. She felt the Doctor's hand on her own.  
"Terna…" he started, but Terna didn't listen to him.  
_Their bodies are huge and with limited mobility. If I'm fast, I might be able to…_It didn't matter. Even if she couldn't escape…No, she needed to. She needed to get away. Terna's adrenaline-coated muscles snapped, and she broke into a mad dash towards a gap in the creatures as they closed in all around them.  
"Terna!" Ian cried. There was a flash and a sound like a whip cracking. Terna was struck from behind by some unseen force. Her coursing body stopped short, and she fell to the ground. Everything went black.

Emptiness, Terna was standing in the middle of some kind of emptiness. There was white on all sides of her. She turned around once where she stood, but saw nothing but void on all sides. There was nothing she could see. But then she heard it: a voice calling her name. Her True Name, not the name Susan gave her. "Who's there?" Terna cried. "What do you want?" The voice paused and, for a frightening moment, Terna thought it had left her alone in the emptiness. Then it spoke again: _A hole, there is a hole in your head. You must fill it.  
_"A hole?" Terna was baffled. "Fill it? Fill it with what?"  
_Recover what was lost to you. Remember what was taken, remember what was lost. Remember who you are, Soul Queen of the Lyall. Remember and fear; fear what you know, fear what you are about to discover.  
_"Fear? Fear what? You're not making any sense!" Terna cried skyward, but all she got in return was:  
_Remember. Remember. Remember…_

Terna awoke with a start. "_In virtute Dei, quod factum est inferni?!_*" Terna babbled in her own tongue, sitting bolt upright and startling Susan who seemed to have been sitting beside her.  
"Terna," the young Time Lady cried, stumbling back over to her. "You're awake."  
"Evidently," the Doctor, who was sitting on the other side of Susan called. "You gave quite a shout."  
Terna glanced around. The group was holed up in a stark white cell that had no windows and a door that became a wall when it was shut, as it was now. The horrible creatures were nowhere in sight. "What happened?" Terna breathed.  
"We were taken here by those things," Barbara explained. Terna turned to see that she and Ian were sitting on a simple bench protruding from the wall. Ian was slumped in a lazy kind of fashion, but he looked more dejected than tired.  
"What happened to you?" Terna demanded.  
"When you went down, Ian tried to run after you," Susan explained. "But those creatures got him in the legs. He lost all feeling in them."  
"You're paralyzed?" Terna was aghast.  
"Only temporarily," Ian replied simply. "I'll be alright in a few minutes."  
Terna glanced down at herself. "I got hit with the same gun, but I feel fine," she mused. "I guess my Amina must have protected me. Didn't do much good though, since I blacked out."  
"You're lucky you weren't killed," the Doctor snapped irritably. "Why did you run?" Terna folded up on herself, shrinking back from the Doctor's accusing glare.  
"I panicked. Sue me," she snapped defensively.  
"Panicking never gets you anywhere," the Doctor declared, "and it certainly won't get you away from those things, whatever they are."  
"Dalek," Terna spoke without thinking.  
Everyone whipped her way, eyes wide in surprise. "They're called Daleks," Terna repeated.  
"How-How do you know that?" Ian asked.  
"I…" Terna paused, suddenly remembering the bizarre dream she'd had while unconscious. "A hole in my head, now it makes sense," she breathed.  
"If you knew about these things, then why didn't you tell us about it sooner?" the Doctor demanded.  
"I'd forgotten," Terna replied. "And I didn't know I'd forgotten because I didn't remembering ever thinking about it in the first place!" Terna sat up even though it made her head spin. "I must have amnesia," she whispered. "When I crashed into the TARDIS, I must have lost some of my memories. "  
"That's irrelevant," the Doctor snapped.  
"It's entirely relevant," Terna asserted. "If I knew about these things, then maybe I knew some way to defeat them…" Her voice trailed off, eyes suddenly going oddly distant.  
"Terna, what's wrong?" Susan inquired.  
Terna didn't answer immediately. She got to her feet and slowly walked up to the wall that contained the disappearing door. "It makes sense," she whispered. "A planet entirely devoid of Amina with creatures that can exist without their central living force; my people must have learned of this place and launched an attack with plans to destroy it."  
"Well, they failed, obviously," the Doctor grumbled.  
Terna paused, her insides twisting. "Yes, they did…and we never fail. How could we have lost? What happened to my people after we did? Was that when we shed our skin and fled to the fourth dimension?" The hand pressed to the wall slowly curled into a fist. "Fear what I know, and fear what I will soon learn," Terna echoed the words in her dream. "I'm beginning to question everything, everything I thought I knew.  
"Well, we'll worry about your identity crisis later," the Doctor announced, leaning back against the wall; his face flushed. "At the moment, we need to find a way out of here. We don't have much time." Terna's eyes widened. That's right; she'd completely forgotten. They were still being exposed to the planet's radiation. They'd soon die from toxins if they didn't get back to the TARDIS soon. The pale, petrified look on Barbara's face told her that the others had taken the liberty to inform her of their dire situation while Terna was still unconscious.  
"What are we going to do?" Barbara cried.  
"Unless we get anti-radiation treatment, all we can do is die," the Doctor whispered. He looked like he wanted to say something more, but his voice left him, and he gritted his teeth in apparent pain, sweat trickling thickly down the sides of his face.  
"This is all your fault," Terna grumbled, slumping down beside the Doctor and drawing her knees into her chest. "I'd smack you if you weren't already in so much pain." She crossed her arms and rested them on her knees, burying her face in the folds; she fought to keep her breathing even.  
"It'll be alright, Terna," Susan reassured her.  
"How will it be alright?" Terna demanded. "How will anything be alright ever again?" She felt a small hand on her shoulder. Glancing up, Terna saw that Susan had her hand clasped firmly on Terna's arm. Her expression was one of fear but also of resolve. Terna felt her knotted stomach loosen slightly. The two women looked at each other, but neither said anything.  
There was a pregnant silence that was suddenly shattered by the droning hum of the door sliding open, and a lone Dalek entered the room.  
"I. Will. Bring. One. Of. You. For. Questioning." He declared, sweeping his nozzle around the room. It came to rest on the Doctor. "You. Get. Up. And. Follow. Me."  
"Grandfather!" Susan cried, starting forward, but Barbara held her back as the Dalek urged the poor man to his feet. The Doctor staggered, looking dazed and nauseous. Terna felt a surge of pity despite the fact that it was his fault they were in this mess the first place.  
"Follow. Me," the Dalek barked, prodding the Doctor with its nozzle, and he stumbled forward, hugging the wall for support.  
"Where are you taking him?" Susan cried, struggling against Barbara's grip.  
"To. Be. Questioned," the Dalek repeated simply.  
_Questioned?_ In a surge of bravery mixed with desperation, Terna suddenly scrambled to her feet and got between the Dalek and the Doctor as he was about to lead him out the door.  
"You're not taking him anywhere," she declared firmly, her face a mere inch from the Dalek's nozzle.  
"Terna, what are you doing?" Ian cried, looking as though he wanted to get up but was still unable to.  
"This. Is. An. Act. Of. Defiance," the Dalek declared. "Move. Or. I. Will. Exterminate. You."  
"No you won't," Terna replied coldly. "You want to learn about us. You're baffled as to who we are or where we came from. If you killed us, that information would be lost."  
"We. Only. Need. One. Of. You. To. Question," the Dalek affirmed.  
"Oh really? And you want to interrogate _him_?" Terna spat, gesturing to the Doctor, who was slumped against the wall watching her with an expression of confusion and even slight admiration. "I take it you can't see very well through that eye stock of yours, or you would notice that he is very ill and will most likely keel over and die at any moment. Wouldn't it be prudent to have a backup interviewee in case that happens? I'm mostly unaffected by the radiation sickness at the moment. There's no better candidate."  
The Dalek paused, seeming to consider this; Terna couldn't really tell as its mechanical form hid all expression. "Help. Him," it finally said, nudging Terna towards the Doctor with its nozzle. Terna fought to contain a triumphant smile as she solemnly held out her arm to the Doctor and allowed him to lean heavily against her; his own arm draped loosely around her waist for support.  
"At times, you are surprisingly brilliant," she heard him whisper. Terna could do little to contain a smug smile at this. "I'm a Queen; I have to be smooth talker," she declared simply.  
"But…Why did you do it?" the Doctor demanded weakly.  
"From my experience, Time Lord, I have learned that, when it comes to interrogations, the questioned can learn just as much as the questioner."  
The Dalek led Terna and the Doctor down a series of more white halls. Terna tried to mentally map them out in the hopes of crafting an escape route, but this soon proved fruitless. The halls snaked on forever, and all of them looked exactly the same. Feeling hopeless, both the Lyall and Time Lord were ushered by the Dalek through a large set of double doors. Beyond them was a high-ceilinged, round room that was white like the halls and contained nothing but a massive computer stacked against the back wall. Hundreds of knobs and buttons lined the many consoles as well as screens displaying various points in the city; including one of their cell where a faint image of Ian, Barbara, and Susan could be seen. The Dalek shoved the Doctor and Terna forward, and the stumbled into the pale beam of a spotlight creating a pool of light in the middle of the room. "Do. Not. Move. Out. Of. The. Light," the Dalek instructed as two more Daleks turned away from the computers and joined the first. "Kneel," one of the other two Daleks commanded. Terna and the Doctor obliged. "Are. You. Of. The. Thal. People?" it demanded.  
Something sparked in the back of Terna's mind. "Thal…?"  
"I don't understand you," the Doctor said weakly.  
"Why. Are. You. Suffering. From. Radiation. Poisoning?"  
"Because we were not aware of it until it was too late, that's why," the Doctor quickly replied before slumping forward so that he almost fell completely over on his face. Terna attempted to prop him up. "Do. Not. Touch. Him," another Dalek snapped, and Terna quickly drew her hands away, holding them up in submission.  
"That. Cannot. Be. True," the Interrogator Dalek said of the Doctor's explanation. "We. Have. Known. That. The. Thals. Have. Existed. Outside. Our. City. Your. Supply. Of. Anti-Radiation. Drugs. Must. Have. Failed. And. You. Came. Into. The. City. To. Find. More."  
_So, there's more than one race on this world_? Terna inwardly mused. _The Thals, another familiar name, and it would seem they are at odds with the Daleks. That could be useful.  
_"You are wrong," the Doctor cried. "We aren't 'Sals' or whatever you called them."  
"You. And. Your. Companions. Need. The. Drugs. Or. You. Will. Die," the Interrogator Dalek declared.  
"We have no drugs," the Doctor cried. "Drugs…wait. The box left outside the TARDIS," Terna heard him whisper. He suddenly grabbed her hand. "The box outside the TARDIS, Terna; those must have been anti-radiation drugs!"  
"TAARDIIS?" the Guard Dalek struggled on the word. "He. Is. Delirious."  
"No, he's not," Terna asserted.  
"You." the Interrogator Dalek pointed its nozzle at Terna. "Tell. Me. What. He. Is. Saying."  
Terna hesitated. "Tell them, Terna," the Doctor whispered weakly.  
"We found a box of drugs out near our…encampment," Terna explained. "It may be the drugs you're referring to. Have one of us go with you to it, and we'll bring them here."  
"We. Cannot. Move. Outside. The. City," the Interrogator Dalek asserted.  
"Very well then," Terna's voice strained. "Have one of us go and hold the others until he returns."  
"As. Long. As. Said. Person. Knows. He. Is. Responsible. For. The. Other's. Fates," the Interrogator Dalek announced.  
Terna smiled bitterly. "He will have our lives in his hands,"  
"Then. We. Are. Agreed," the Guard Dalek declared. At that moment, the Doctor collapsed fully onto his stomach, out cold.  
"Time Lord!" Terna cried in shock, kneeling beside him.  
"Leave. Him," the Dalek ordered.  
Terna whirled around. "Tell me about these people, the Thals," she asked bravely.  
"Over. Five. Hundred. Years. Ago. There. Were. Two. Races. On. This. Planet. We. The. Daleks. And. The. Thals. After. The. Neutronic. War. Our. Forefathers. Retired. Into. The. City. Where. We. Are. Protected," the Dalek explained.  
"And the Thals?" Terna inquired.  
"Most. Perished. In. The. War," the Dalek replied. "But. We. Know. There. Are. Survivors. They. Must. Be. Disgustingly. Mutated. But. The. Fact. That. They. Survived. Means. They. Must. Have. A. Drug. That. Preserves. Them."  
Terna pursed her lips. "So, despite the fact that those things exist in the forest, you are willing to send one of us out there after the drugs?" she whispered bitterly.  
"As, you said, it is your only chance for survival," the Dalek replied.

Susan and Barbara were walking circles with Ian around the cell when Terna and the Doctor were thrust rather unceremoniously into the middle of the room by the Guard Dalek accompanying them.  
"Grandfather!" Susan left Ian, who was still struggling to stand on his own, and rushed to the Doctor's side. She quickly helped him over to the bench, and Barbara sat Ian down beside him while the door slid firmly shut behind them. The Doctor looked terrible: his face pale as death and slick with sweat.  
"He is getting steadily worse" Ian mused. "Are you alright, Terna?" he inquired of her.  
"Oddly fine," Terna replied with a shrug.  
"What happened?" Barbara asked.  
"Do you remember the box that we found outside the TARDIS?" Terna inquired. The other three nodded.  
"The vials inside might have been anti-radiation gloves-drugs-but I can't be certain," the Doctor stumbled over simply speaking; he was so weak. "However, we need to get a hold of them. They are our only hope."  
"None of us are in very good shape though," Ian observed.  
"I could go," Barbara offered.  
"No, I will," Ian asserted.  
"But you can't walk," Barbara protested.  
"Oh, I'll be fine in a couple of hours," Ian replied.  
"We don't have hours," Terna asserted. "We need to get those drugs as soon as possible. So, I'll go," she announced.  
"Terna, it should be me," Ian insisted.  
"No, I'm the least affected by the drugs out of all of you," Terna replied. "I'm the only one that can do it. Trust me." As she spoke, Terna slid her hands into the pocket of her dress. Her fingers grasped nothing.  
"My magnifying glass…Where is it?" Terna cried.  
"They searched our pockets when they first threw us in here," Ian explained grimly.  
Terna scowled. "Damn, and I was hoping to cut the Daleks down, so then we could_ all_ get away."  
Ian gave her a queer look. "With a magnifying glass?"  
"Yeah, I cut the door Barbara was trapped behind earlier with it because I pumped it full of…Amina." Terna's voice trailed off as it dawned on her. She raised her hands in front of her face and vaguely glimpsed a flash of blue light and color moving throughout her fingertips. "That's why…" she breathed.  
"Terna, what is it?" Barbara asked.  
"I think my Psychic Amina is protecting me from the radiation, making its progression much slower for me."  
"Will it be able to hold you off against the Thals?" the Doctor asked weakly, leaning further back against the bench, his skin yellowish and waxy in the bright light.  
"Thals?" Ian asked.  
"Yes, they're another race that lives in the woods…mutations," the Doctor explained breathlessly. "I was right about the neutron bomb. The Daleks and the Thals went to war, and both were all but destroyed upon the bomb's detonation, but a few survived, and the Thals became horribly changed by the exposure to radiation while the Daleks built this city to protect themselves from it."  
Terna gave the Doctor a confused look. "I thought you were unconscious when the Daleks explained that."  
"I was…mostly," the Doctor replied simply.  
Terna shrugged. "Anyway, we hypothesized that the Thals were the ones that left us the drugs in the woods."  
"But how did the Thals survive out there?" Ian asked the Doctor. The Doctor opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a strangled choking sound. "Doctor?" Ian cried as the Doctor's eyes rolled back in his head and consciousness slipped from him.  
"Grandfather!" Susan pressed her hands to his face. "He's burning hot."  
"I need to get these drugs quickly," Terna stated, "and I'll ask for water when they come for me. In the meantime, we need to keep him as cool as possible."  
Susan nodded, already fumbling with the Doctor's cravat.  
"Terna…" the Doctor mumbled weakly, "Terna."  
"He's saying your name," Susan called to her.  
"He's delirious," Terna replied dismissively.  
"Terna," the Doctor repeated, reaching out and taking her hand.  
Perplexed, Terna leaned in closer so that her face was but a few inches from the Doctor's. "What is it?" she asked.  
"Do you think…that Amina of yours…would be able to still the effects…of the radiation poisoning…for us as well?" the Doctor whispered, his voice uneven.  
Terna stared at him, eyes wide. "I…I don't know. It's possible."  
"Would you try it?" Susan asked.  
"I guess," Terna flexed her fingers thoughtfully, a plume of blue light blossomed on the tips. Slowly, she leaned forward and raised her hands to the Doctor's flushed face. "This might tickle," she explained grimly before pressing her cold palms to his forehead. The Doctor sucked in a sharp breath at the feeling of her frigid flesh against his own scalding skin. Terna closed her eyes and concentrated, feeling the energy flow out through her fingers and seep into the Doctor's body. She could feel the rotting poison eating away at his insides being distilled. "There. That ought to do it," Terna announced after a moment, redrawing her hands. The Doctor's eyes remained closed; however, he was only sleeping now.  
"Terna, do Barbara too. She looks terrible," Ian called. Barbara's skin was chalk-white, and her eyelids fluttered lazily as she fought to keep them open. Terna repeated the same process on her and then on Ian and Susan for good measure. It seemed to rejuvenate them slightly, and the mood in the room brightened somewhat.  
"Terna, you do realize you can't leave now," Ian declared grimly.  
"What do you mean?" Terna cried.  
"That thing you just did won't last forever. You have to stay here and repeat the process. It'll buy me time while I go and get the drugs."  
"Ian, you can't go," Terna protested. "It'll be hours before you've got your full strength back."  
"I've already got feeling in my toes. It'll only be a few minutes more," Ian insisted.  
"Oh, but Ian, you can't go alone!" Susan suddenly cried as something seemed to dawn on her. "You won't be able to get into the TARDIS."  
"Then give me the key," Ian replied simply.  
"It's not that simple; the whole lock comes away from the door," Susan replied.  
"Suppose the Daleks insist that only one of us goes," Ian stated. "You'll have to give me the key, and I'll just have to keep trying until I get it right."  
"No, that won't work," Susan asserted. "It's a defense mechanism. There are twenty one holes in the lock, and only one is right. If you get it wrong, the whole lock will melt."  
"Then I'll go," Terna chimed in. "I'm a part of the TARDIS. I might be able to get it open without the lock at all."  
"We can't count on that," Susan insisted. "And besides Ian's right; you have to stay here and take care of my grandfather and Barbara."  
"So, what? You're saying you'll go?" Terna cried.  
"I'll go with Ian, yes," Susan replied.  
Before Ian could protest further, the door opened and a Dalek slid into the room. Terna couldn't tell if it was the same one from before; they all looked the same.  
"Which. One. Of. You. Is. Going?" it asked. "One. Of. You. Must. Leave. Now."  
"Terna, please, let me go," Ian cried. "I've got feeling in my left leg. I'll just limp."  
"You will move too slow. We have to get the drugs quickly," Terna asserted.  
"Let me go with him," Susan cried.  
"Only. One. Of. You. Can. Go," the Dalek replied, flicking its nozzle in Susan's direction. "You. Are. The. Youngest. And. The. Strongest. You. Will. Go."  
Susan paled, and Terna doubted it was from radiation sickness. "Must I go alone?" she whispered.  
"Ian, we can't let her go alone," Barbara whispered weakly.  
"You. Must. Go. Now," the Dalek announced.  
Susan clenched her small hands; they were shaking. Standing there in the middle of the empty cell, she looked so small and frail.  
"Susan, listen to me," Terna walked up to her. "Ian can't go with you; he'll move too slowly. An hour might make all the difference for the rest of us."  
"I'm so afraid," Susan whispered.  
"I know." Tentatively, Terna reached out and took Susan's hand, squeezing it firmly. _So am I_, she thought.  
"Are. You. Ready?" the Dalek demanded.  
"Yes, alright," Terna snapped back.  
Slowly, Susan turned towards the Dalek and followed it out of the room. Terna kept her eyes on the back of Susan's head until the door had completely closed behind her.  
Dejectedly, she moved to sit down beside Ian and Barbara.  
"Terna, the people in the forest…you said they were mutations," Barbara cried weakly.  
"What else can we do?" Ian demanded before stopping to grip his obviously throbbing skull. Terna turned from him as he began to pound his useless leg.  
She glanced towards the Doctor and gently pressed her fingers to his hand. She could already begin to feel the heat of fever slowly creeping back into his skin. Ian was right; she would have to continuously repeat the process. Terna glanced towards the door. "Susan, hurry back," she breathed.  
"Terna," the Doctor choked. Terna turned his way, surprised.  
"Static Electricity," the Doctor whispered.  
Terna blinked in surprise. "Static-what?"  
"Static Electricity, it's what powers the Daleks," the Doctor explained; his voice was quiet, so Terna had to lean in close to her him properly. "When I pretended to collapse during the interrogation, I was trying to hear a humming sound better, and I discovered it came from the floor," the Doctor explained. "The Daleks said they can't leave the city, and I think the reason why is because they are powered by the electromagnetic energy running through the floor."  
"Like a giant magnet?" Terna asked.  
"If you want to put it in primitive terms," the Doctor replied. "The point is that if we cut off the Daleks from the floor, they'll turn off, and then we'll be able to escape."  
"And you're sure of this?" Terna demanded.  
"No. I'm not, but it's the only theory I've got," the Doctor replied, slightly irritable.  
"Fine, say it does work. How do you propose we cut them off from the floor?" Terna asked.  
"I'll think of something," the Doctor replied.  
"Brilliant, and how long do you think that's going to take before you pass out again?" The Doctor didn't reply as his eyes started to go glassy. Terna bit her lip and pressed her fingers to his forehead, threading more Amina into his body. She then did the same to Ian and Barbara.  
_Let's hope this round lasts a little longer,_ Terna thought weakly. _I don't have a limitless supply, and since this planet is without Amina, I won't be able to draw anymore to me._

Hours passed, but to Terna it felt like days. She paced the room, feeling fatigue slowly creeping into her bones like thick liquid. She glanced towards the other three, all dozing lightly on the bench. As she watched them, Terna's vision started to swim. "No," Terna shook her head, trying to clear it. "I can't give out now." But, even as she said it, Terna could feel her body quaking. She was exhausted; her Amina reserves were low, and she had no idea where Susan was or when she'd be back.  
"Terna…" Ian weakly called to her. Terna made her way over to him, pausing to lean against the wall and take in a deep breath. She could feel a rejuvenating jittery-sensation, and it restored a little of her energy, even if the source of it was panic.  
"Terna, are you alright?" Ian demanded as she came over to him and gently pressed her fingers to his forehead, weaving Amina into his skin. A wave of dizziness came over Terna upon finishing, and she stumbled away from Ian, her gaze reeling. At one point, her eyes fell on a spark of light, blinking weakly in the corner. Turning to face it fully, Terna felt her heart plummet into her stomach. A camera, there was a camera situated in the corner of the prison. Terna suddenly remembered the interrogation room and the computers that displayed video of their cell. How could she have forgotten the Daleks were watching them? They must have seen what she had been doing!  
"Oh no," Terna breathed, staggering weakly over to the camera. She never made it there; the room turned a somersault, and Terna fell face first to the floor of the cell, collapsing into only semi-consciousness. Vaguely, she heard what sounded like Ian calling her name and then the hum of the door sliding open.  
"Terna!" Susan was there, turning her over onto her back. Her vision was foggy, but Terna could faintly make out a frayed image of Susan's pale, pixie-like face with her short dark hair and eyes filled with worry. She was wrapped in a forest green cloak that was molded from some kind of leaf in a hexagonal pattern similar to a turtle shell.  
"Susan, where did you get that cloak?" Terna asked, her voice slurred as though she were drunk.  
"Terna, what's happened to you?" Susan cried.  
"She's exhausted. She's been tending to us this entire time," Ian replied followed by the heavy sound of a Dalek approaching them.  
"You. Have. The. Drugs. Now. You. Will. Be. Well," it announced before turning and exiting the room, there was the hum of the door slamming shut behind him.  
"You got the drugs?" Ian asked Susan, his voice sounding overjoyed.  
"Yes. Here. Give these to Barbara and my grandfather. I'll give these to Terna," Susan instructed.  
"No, I'm fine," Terna asserted. "I'm just tired. You need it more than I do."  
"I already took some," Susan replied. Before Terna could protest further, Susan had uncorked one of the glass vials and tipped the contents down Terna's throat. The stuff tasted like horse-piss, and Terna gagged heavily, but she couldn't really complain. "Here. Drink this," the foul-tasting medicine was followed by the refreshing flavor of fresh water. "I convinced the Daleks to give us some water," Susan explained as Terna opened her eyes and sat up, leaning against the wall.  
"Good work, Susan. Now, I'd recommend giving some of that water to your grandfather," she gestured over to the Doctor. While Ian and Barbara were both better colored and seeming to have perked up, the Doctor was still gaunt and still, lying on his back across the bench as though a corpse in a coffin.  
"Why hasn't he woken up?" Susan cried, rushing to her grandfather's side and quickly tipping more water from a little dish in her hand down his throat. "Alidon said the drugs would work quickly."  
"Ali-who?" Terna demanded.  
"Who are you taking about, Susan?" Barbara added.  
"I met a Thal in the woods," Susan explained. "He was the one that had given us the drugs, and he gave me this cloak."  
Terna arched an eyebrow. "You ran into one of those creatures? What did it look like?"  
Susan dropped her eyes, a visible blush growing on her cheeks. "He was actually quite handsome."  
"This Alidon of yours seems to have kept his wits about him," Ian mused. "After all, he gave us two supplies of drugs."  
"Two supplies?" Terna asked.  
"Yes, the Daleks took the other from us," Susan explained.  
"We were lucky to keep the first," Ian added. "The Thals certainly seem more friendly."  
"Yes, he even gave me this cloak to keep me warm," Susan agreed, fingering the strange garment she still had draped around her shoulders.  
"Susan!" the Doctor suddenly cried.  
"Grandfather!" Susan rushed to his side. The Doctor opened his eyes, and Susan quickly explained to him what had happened. "The drugs seem to be working," she added.  
"Yes, I'll be alright," the Doctor agreed. "Then we can go back to the ship."  
"But we're still prisoners, Grandfather," Susan reminded him.  
"Oh. Are we?" the Doctor swallowed hard. "Then we must find a way to escape." He tried to sit up but fell back against the bench and collapsed into unconsciousness again.  
"As soon as Grandfather's properly awake, we need to find a way to help the Thals," Susan exclaimed.  
"Help them? Why?" Terna demanded.  
"Alidon said his people are running out of food. They're going to starve to death if they can't find a new source soon," Susan explained.  
"How can we help them? We can't even help ourselves," Barbara cried forlornly.  
Susan sighed. "If only we could talk to the Daleks."  
Terna glanced up at the camera hung up in the corner. "Susan," she hissed. The young girl whirled around. Silently, Terna beckoned her over. Susan quickly crossed the room over to where she was sitting and watched her with wide, confused eyes as Terna slowly leaned in to her and whispered in her ear. "_Susan, potestis intelligere me_?" Terna spoke in her native tongue, asking Susan if she understood her. Susan pursed her lips and nodded stiffly. _Listen to me,_ Terna continued in her own language. _The Daleks have a camera monitoring us. It's been on the entire time we've been here, even when you left. Don't look!_ Terna cried when Susan attempted to search for the camera. _The thing is: they must have seen what I was doing while you were gone after the drugs, healing the others, and if they've figured out what I am; we'll have a big problem. _Susan's eyes widened. _We need to get out of here. Now. _Terna concluded.  
"What are you two whispering about over there?" Ian demanded. Terna and Susan turned towards him and Barbara. Silently, Terna pressed a firm finger to her lips and then pointed towards the camera in the corner. Ian and Barbara both quickly glanced at it; there eyes widening in shock and horror.  
_What do we do?_ Barbara breathed. Terna shook her head in dismay.  
"We can't just abandon the Thals though," Susan continued, her voice barely above a whisper. "Alidon said that unless they make some kind of treaty with the Daleks, all of the Thals are going to die."  
"Who says the Daleks are going to go for that?" Terna shot back.  
"They will," Susan insisted. "The Daleks have food, and the Thals have anti-radiation drugs."  
"Ah, I see, an even trade," Ian deduced.  
"Yes, Alidon told me to send a message to the Thals if the Daleks agreed to a meeting."  
Terna glanced towards the camera. "You got that in there?" she hollered. "The Thals wanna meet with you."  
Everyone paused, half-expecting something to happen. Nothing did.  
"They're probably going to try and sweat us out for a while," Terna grumbled. "Now, where's the water, I need some-never mind," Terna had attempted to get to her feet but everything went numb upon her attempt to stand, and she slumped back against the wall.  
"Terna, what's wrong," Susan cried. "I thought the drugs worked on you."  
"It's not the drugs I need, it's Amina," Terna whispered weakly. "I've exhausted my reserves, and there's none on this planet that I can pull from." Terna paused to laugh bitterly. "I hope I have enough to keep me tethered to this body. If that gives out I'm screwed." Susan watched her, a look of distress on her face that was quickly swallowed by darkness as Terna collapsed into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

Terna awoke, as did the others for many hours had passed, to the sound of the doors sliding open. A lone Dalek entered the room, carrying a tray laden with food balanced on its nozzle.  
"We. Have. Brought. You. Food. And. More. Water," it announced. "Now. The. Girl. Is. To. Come. With. Me," it added.  
"What for?" Ian demanded, jumping to his feet.  
"It's alright, Ian," Susan insisted, starting towards the Dalek.  
"We. Are. Going. To. Help. The. Thals. Which. Is. What. You. Want," the Dalek declared. "Now. Come. With. Me. So. We. Can. Write. A. Message. To. Them." Wordlessly, Susan followed him out of the room.  
"I don't understand," the Doctor seemed to have recovered somewhat, and he sat up, watching Susan go. His face lined with worry. "Why have they taken Susan?"  
"Alidon asked Susan to write the message," Ian explained.  
"Who's Alidon?" the Doctor demanded.  
While Ian and Barbara explained, Terna kept a firm eye on the camera in the corner._ I don't trust the Daleks, _she grumbled inwardly. _This helping the Thals charade is just to lure us into a false sense of security. These are creatures without souls; they are incapable of sympathy or empathy. We need to get out of her and warn the Thals if we can. This whole thing's going to violently explode if we're not careful.  
_"Are you feeling any better, Terna?" Ian inquired, snapping her out of her reverie. Terna checked herself. "Aside from the fact that my toes are numb, and my insides feel like jelly, I'm fantastic," she replied. Ian looked horrified. "I don't think I'll be able to stand," Terna added. "I'm using the last of my Amina to try and keep myself tethered to this form. I can't even afford to use any energy to walk."  
"What happens if you lose your hold on your body?" the Doctor asked. Terna smiled without humor.  
"My soul shall return to the Heart of the TARDIS, and I'll burn," she replied. The Doctor pursed his lips.  
"If you can't walk, it'll complicate us trying to get out of here," he whispered.  
"If you think you're leaving me behind, Time Lord; you've got another thing coming," Terna snapped, her eyes burning. "I'll _crawl_ out of here if I have to."  
"Not so loud," the Doctor shot back, gesturing slightly to the camera.  
"We need to get rid of that thing," Ian whispered to the others.  
"How?" Barbara whispered.  
"I've got a plan," Ian announced. "As soon as Susan comes back, we'll spring into action."

Susan eventually returned and announced she had successfully delivered a message to the Thals through the Daleks. Terna filled her in of their plan through her own language. After which, everyone took their places.  
"This whole thing is suspicious," Ian began. "Just because the Daleks haven't killed us, doesn't mean there's any reason to trust them."  
"Or suspect them either," the Doctor asserted  
"Maybe they just have a different way of doing things," Barbara offered.  
"The Thals helped us; the Daleks put us in a cell. I know which of the two I prefer," Ian continued.  
"The Daleks are a strong people; I think we ought to cooperate with them," the Doctor replied, getting to his feet.  
"Ever since you've talked alone with the Daleks, you've been on their side. What did they do? Bribe you?" Ian demanded rushing up to the Doctor and getting in his face. The Doctor averted his eyes. Ian grabbed the Doctor's shoulders and turned him towards him. "Look. I want to know why. Why are you on their side and against the rest of us?"  
"Take your hands off me. How dare you, sir!" the Doctor thundered.  
"Leave my Grandfather alone!" Susan added as she leapt off the bench she'd been perched on and jumped onto Ian's back. Ian stumbled dramatically backward with Susan pounding on his head. He blindly ran into the wall, and Susan quickly yanked the camera clear off the wall. There was an electrical popping sound and then silence as the camera disconnected as it fell from Susan's grasp and onto the floor with a clatter.  
"Did I hurt you?" Ian asked as Susan slid off his back. Susan shook her head, grinning from ear to ear at their success.  
"Well," Terna declared from her perch on the bench. "That was entertaining."  
"That ought to fix the Daleks for a while," Ian added, picking up the camera and knocking it a few times against the wall until it shattered. "Now, how are we going to get out of here?" he added.  
"Well, the Daleks are bound to come down here and investigate the broken camera," Susan deduced. "We should all pretend to be dead to catch them off guard, and then we'll force our way past them and run off down the corridor-"  
"And then what?" Ian cut her off. "Even if we can outrun them, they'll zap us all into paralysis with those guns."  
"Then we need to trick them somehow," Barbara declared.  
"But how?" Ian demanded.  
"Static electricity," Terna and the Doctor cried at the same time, causing everyone else to look at them in surprise.  
"How did you two do that?" Ian asked.  
Terna and the Doctor looked at each other. "You explain," Terna waved her hand dismissively.  
So the Doctor relayed to Susan, Ian, and Barbara the deductions he had already explained to Terna. "I believe the Daleks have discovered static electricity and electrically magnetized the base of their machines so that they draw power from the floors of the city. I heard a humming sound running throughout the floors, and there's an acrid smell when they move about."  
"I noticed that too," Susan piped up.  
"It smells like those machines at the fairgrounds," Barbara exclaimed.  
"What? Like evil bumper cars?" Ian asked.  
"What's a bumper car?" Terna asked.  
"Irrelevant, Terna," the Doctor snapped at her. "Let's focus on the matter at hand. Assuming I'm right, we need to find a way to cut off the Daleks power by disconnecting them from the floor."  
"We might want to get rid of their eyes too," Barbara added. "They can see all around them like a giant camera lens."  
"Good point," the Doctor agreed. "Chesteron, would you mind concentrating for a moment, young man?" he called over to Ian, who was crouched down with his head resting on his chin, deep in thought. "Susan? Where's that cloak you brought back with you?" he suddenly inquired.  
"Behind you," Susan replied.  
Ian whipped around and snatched the Thal cloak from its heap on the ground and spread it out before him like a picnic blanket. "Say, Barbara, what do you suppose this is made of?"  
"I don't know, some kind of cloth?" Barbara offered.  
"Good, then assuming the Doctor's right, this will make perfect insulation," Ian declared.  
They then began to formulate another plan.

A series of chills laced throughout Terna's body, she curled her legs up and under herself, trying to conserve as much body heat as possible, but it was slipping away fast. She clutched at her bare arms as she trembled.  
"Are you alright, Terna?" the Doctor, who was sitting beside her, inquired.  
"Do I look alright to you, Time Lord?" Terna snapped back, gripping her arms as the tremors rattled her insides. Her body was numb with cold, and she could feel her eyes struggling to stay open, her lids heavier than lead.  
"Terna, you have to stay awake," the Doctor whispered, "It'll only be a little while longer, and then we'll return to the TARDIS, and you can recollect your Amina."  
Terna licked her dry lips and nodded slowly.  
"Everyone, he's coming," Susan, who'd had her ear pressed to the door, whispered frantically. Everyone raced to their positions. Ian lay down at the foot of the door, just out of reach with the broken camera clasped in one hand, planning to use the device to jam the door. Barbara had used dirt from Susan's shoes and some of their water to make mud to cover the lens and blind the Dalek. Susan grasped the cloak tightly, attempting to hide her trembling hands. Terna slumped uselessly on the bench, only capable of watching as they all prepared to fight for their lives. If they failed; they would certainly be killed.  
Terna felt her icy blood pounding in her ears, and it mixed with the hum of the door slowly sliding open. The Dalek loomed into view, its bulky frame filling the entire doorway. "Take. The. Food," it ordered Susan, holding out another tray. Mutely, the young girl obliged. The Dalek than turned and slid out of the door, however, the automated machine gave out a faint whine as it failed to shut all the way. The reason for this was soon apparent as Ian jumped away from the door, having successfully jammed the broken camera piece into the corner. The door gave another frantic shriek before sliding back open. The Dalek slid over to investigate, straining its nozzle to try and make out the camera beneath its bulk.  
"Now!" Barbara cried, rushing forward and jamming her handful of homemade mud into said nozzle. Ian and the Doctor grabbed the Dalek in any spot they could hold onto and dragged it completely into the cell. "Keep. Away. Keep. Away," the Dalek cried in its eerie monotone as it struggled weakly, swerving its blind eye scope back and forth. The Doctor gave a shout as the scope knocked him in the chest and sent him flying into the opposite wall. Terna's heart stood still as she watched helplessly from spot on the bench. The Doctor got his second wind just as the Dalek whirled around to face Ian, ramming at the thing at full force and knocking it askew once more. "The gun; Chesterton the gun!" the Doctor cried frantically. Ian struggled to push the creature backward while Barbara and Susan spread out the blanket in its wake. The Dalek extended its plunger arm and almost suckered Ian to death before he and the Doctor finally managed to shove it fully onto the blanket. The Dalek froze, and there was a faint whirling sound as the large machine powered down.  
"We did it!" Susan exclaimed, leaping for joy and rushing over to hug the Doctor while Barbara moved to help Ian back to his feet. Terna felt a wave of giddiness rush through her body, she laughed gleefully but it came out strained and anxious. Her chest felt tight and hurt under the pressure of her stalling lungs. _Shit, this is bad_. Terna gritted her teeth. With great effort and feeling as though she were reeling, Terna hoisted herself to her feet and staggered over to the others, who were all clustered around the deactivated machine.  
"Take your hand off the gun," Ian whispered to the Doctor, who was applying pressure to said weapon to insure it didn't fire, just in case. Cautiously, the Doctor obliged. Everyone held their breath, but nothing happened.  
"It worked," Barbara cried.  
"Alright, let's pop this thing open," Ian announced as he wrestled with the Dalek's lid. "Think you'll be able to get that thing open?" Terna inquired with a weak smile. "I could always give you a hand. I have to do _something_," she added when Ian gave her a weary look.  
"Alright, Doctor, Terna, give me a hand with this," Ian grunted as he strained against the cap of the machine. It took some effort on their part, and Terna couldn't be much help in her weakened state. Finally, the lid burst free. The sound that followed as soon as the Doctor was free was horrific. It was a screech of pure, unadulterated murderous rage that erupted out from the open machine. Ian quickly shut the lid back before anyone could look long enough to make out what was inside. "Barbara, Susan, why don't you keep watch outside?" he whispered. It wasn't a request and the two women knew it as they quickly headed out into the hall. "You too, Terna," he added.  
"I'm staying right here," Terna asserted firmly.  
"Alright, we need to get this thing out of the container," Ian stated. "I'm going to open the lid again," he added in order to give everyone a moment's warning. Surprisingly, the creature did not cry out this time. This coaxed Terna into moving closer, leaning precariously forward so as to peer into the dark depths of the creature's open top. What she saw, what was inside... Terna felt her heart change places with her stomach, nausea coursed throughout her body, momentarily diminishing her fatigue. Terna gasped, clutching at her abdomen as she raced from the room, pushing past an equally horrified Ian and the Doctor. Out in the hall, Terna collapsed to her knees and vomited. She choked and clutched at her heaving chest, feeling the cold sweat lacing her skin as she fought to regain control of her body.  
"Terna…" Terna felt Susan's small hand gently rubbing her back.  
"Wrong," Terna's voice was strained as she struggled for breath. "It's wrong, so wrong…"  
"Here, let me help you," Susan offered.  
"I-I'm fine," Terna stammered, stumbling to her feet. She sank back heavily and collapsed against the wall.  
"Terna!" Susan and Barbara both rushed to her side, propping her up against them like some kind of dilapidated doll. A moment later, Ian appeared in the doorway, looking very pale. "We removed the creature from the capsule and wrapped it in the blanket so none of us will have to look at it. It's safe now," he reassured them. Barbara nodded, her lips pursed.  
"Can you walk, Terna?" Susan asked.  
Terna nodded defiantly but stumbled heavily when she tried to take a step. Susan helped her up as she swayed where she stood, feeling dizzy and faint, her hollow stomach knocking against her ribs, matching the pace of her frantically beating heart. Terna clenched her fists as sweat began to poor down the sides of her face. She didn't know how much longer she could last.  
"Alright, it's best not to hang around here," the Doctor announced, poking his head around the door frame. "We need to get a move on before someone comes looking for this Dalek," he gestured to the empty container.  
"So, we go with the plan then?" Barbara confirmed. "One of us climbs inside that thing and pretends to be a Dalek and leads us out of the city?"  
"Yes, I'll do it," Ian announced.  
"No, I think Terna should be the one," the Doctor asserted. This statement temporarily jerked Terna back into clarity.  
"What? Me? No. I'm not getting in that thing. No way!"  
"Terna, be reasonable," the Doctor started, but she cut him off.  
"No. No!" Terna's voice grew shrill as she stepped away from the Doctor and Ian. "I won't do it. I refuse."  
"Terna, let's be practical here," the Doctor exclaimed, exasperated. "We need to get out of here as quickly as possible, and you can barely walk. I'm not going to carry you," he added.  
Terna eyes were wide as she clenched her fists in an attempt to quell their shaking. To go inside the Dalek machine, to trap herself inside where that thing once sat, even if only for a few moments. Terna closed her eyes and shook her head vigorously, trying to clear it.  
"We shouldn't force her," Ian stated.  
"No. I-I'll do it," Terna fought to even her voice. She shoved herself forcefully off the wall and stumbled heavily, Ian and Susan rushed forward to catch her. "I'll just slow you down otherwise," Terna added breathlessly.  
"Well, if you're sure," Ian murmured as she scooped her up and carried her bridal-style back into the cell. Terna made sure to heavily avert her eyes from the crumpled cloak bunched up in the corner, her stomach turning at the mere thought of what was underneath it. She drew in a sharp breath when her eyes fell on the empty tank in the middle of the room.  
"You don't have to do this," Ian whispered to her. Terna was alarmed at the caring manner in his voice.  
"Do not act as I'm completely helpless, human," Terna hissed sharply. "I'll be fine."  
"Alright," Ian gently lifted Terna over the rim of the machine, inside was a mess of cables and wiring and, Terna almost laughed, what appeared to be a little pilots chair nestled amongst all the strips of copper and metal workings. What her next was the smell. Terna gasped and quickly clapped a hand to her mouth as nausea bubbled up in her stomach. The smell, it was like week old eggs left out in the sun. Choking through her fingers, Terna closed her eyes as Ian slowly lowered her inside the Dalek capsule. "This probably isn't a good time to mention I'm cluster-phobic, is it?" Terna asked dryly. Ian laughed nervously before closing the lid. The darkness of the small space closed in around Terna. Slowly removing her hand from her face, Terna took a deep breath, attempting to center herself. The confines were tight, and Terna bunched her body up as small as possible, attempting to make herself more comfortable.  
"Terna?" a voice, thin and quiet from behind the walls of the Dalek machine, called out to her. Terna perked up, instantly recognizing Susan's voice. "Terna, can you hear me? Are you alright in there?"  
"Alright? Of course I'm not alright," Terna snapped back "I can breathe in this thing, if that's what you mean," she added.  
"What?" Susan called.  
"Huh?" Terna replied.  
"I can't hear you," Susan explained. "Is there a microphone or something that you can talk through?"  
"Um," Terna glanced around. She couldn't see much of anything through the dark, let alone a microphone.  
"Can you see out of that thing?" Barbara inquired.  
Terna blinked. Could she? She glanced around the small dark space, not a speck of light seemed to be filtering in from the outside. Terna placed her hands on the hard surface in front of her so as to prop herself up better. There was a flash as Terna's fingers pressed against a series of buttons. The console suddenly lit up all around her in a wide array of colors like a Christmas tree.  
"Ah! What'd I do?" Terna cried, throwing her hands away from the sides of the container.  
"Terna, what is it?" Ian's voice called, sounding sharper and clear than Barbara and Susan had. Terna glanced to her left to see a little intercom system mounted on the wall, a small light was flashing beside it to indicate it was on.  
"Ian?" Terna asked.  
"Terna?" Ian's voice repeated, coming clear as day through the intercom.  
"I guess I rebooted the system," Terna mused, glancing down at the console in front of her. Upon doing so, she saw a small microphone jutting out of the top. In front of that was a small circle mounted in the wall that glowed faintly with a green light. It was the same light that emanated from the Dalek's eye stocks. Terna leaned forward slightly and, if she squinted, she could just make out the white walls of the cell through the small, telescopic les.  
"Terna? Are you alright? What happened?" Ian called through the intercom. He suddenly appeared in front of her eye stock, tapping his finger against the lens. The blunt clicks echoed throughout the entire system.  
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Terna called through the microphone. "I just turned the thing back on by accident. Can you hear me now?"  
Susan giggled. "You sound funny." She popped her head into view as well.  
Terna's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?"  
"It sounds all strained and metallic," Susan explained. "You know, like how the Daleks talk."  
"Great," Terna grumbled miserably. She fiddled with a nozzle beside the microphone and found herself able to maneuver the eye stock from left to right. She swept the room once, catching glimpses of everyone as she passed.  
"I've got visual mobility now," she declared.  
"You're going to have to talk more like them if you want to be convincing," the Doctor replied. "You can't emit any emotion."  
"Um, okay," Terna leaned closer to the microphone. "Hello. I. Am. A. Dalek. You. Will. Be. Exterminated. There, how's that?" she inquired. Over the sound of Susan and Barbara laughing, she heard the Doctor sigh. "Yes, that'll do." Terna snorted  
"Well, we shouldn't hang around here much longer," Ian declared. "The other Daleks are bound to notice this one's missing any minute."  
"Good point, Chesterton," the Doctor agreed. "Terna, can you move that thing?" he added.  
Terna glanced around. "Probably, but it's like a professional sound system in here. It might take me a couple of minutes to figure out how."  
"That's time we don't have," Ian stated. "Alright, Terna, we'll just have to push you."  
"Fine with me," Terna replied grimly.  
"Okay, Susan, Barbara, give me a hand." Terna watched Ian and the two other women moved around to the back of the Dalek machine and she felt them push firmly against it. Terna gripped the sides of the pilot chair she was crouched on and gritted her teeth as the machine slid across the cell floor and out into the hall.  
"Okay Susan, you know the way. Why don't you lead us," Terna heard Ian say.  
"Ok," Susan nodded as she came back into the view of Terna's eye scope and moved ahead of the rest of the group as the shuffled down the hall in the awkward procession.  
Terna hugged her arms and rocked slightly in the pilot seat, she could feel waves of exhaustion and fatigue ripple throughout her body, her legs were numb and pins and needles stung up and down her arms. She felt faint, her eyes drooping; her breathing came hitched in her throat. She slumped back against the chair and fought to keep her eye open. They went on a ways down the hall until the came to a bend. "Wait," Susan instructed the others. Cautiously, she went forward a few steps and leaned around the corner. "Around this corner, there's a great iron door with a Dalek on guard, beyond that is a lift," she explained after rejoining the others.  
"Alright, then, Terna," he called to her.  
"Yeah," Terna replied thickly.  
"Use as little talking as possible," the Doctor instructed.  
Terna nodded, and then remembered they couldn't see her face. "Right." As she spoke, Terna shifted position, and her elbow bumped the console. The Dalek machine suddenly gave a great jerk.  
"What happened?" the Doctor demanded. Terna gawked, staring down at the console and what looked almost like a joystick.  
"You've got to be kidding me," Terna breathed. _Was it really that simple?_ Well, then again, Daleks didn't have thumbs.  
"Are you alright, Terna?" Ian asked.  
"I think I might have figured out how to operate this thing," Terna announced as she leaned forward, despite the ache in her limbs and jiggled the controller. The Dalek machine moved from left to right. "Yeah, I've got it." Terna couldn't help but smile. "Alright, Time Lord, Ian, get in front," she added. The two men obliged and Terna gently pressed on the control mechanism, urging the machine forward in the other's wake. Fearfully, they rounded the bend in the hall and came across a large door with a Dalek standing guard just as Susan had indicated.  
"Stop!" the Dalek commanded, and everyone froze.  
"The. Counsel. Wishes. To. Question. The. Prisoners," Tern announced through the microphone in her best Dalek voice.  
"I. Was. Not. Informed," the real Dalek replied.  
Through the nozzle lens, Terna could see flashes of fear cross everyone's face. She wet her dry lips and opened her mouth to respond, but the first Dalek cut her off.  
"Wait. I. Will. Check." He moved his plunger stock over to a communication panel mounted on the wall beside the door. Terna bit her lip. Not good.  
"No! I'm not going. No!" Susan shrieked and broke away from the group, attempting to get away down the hall. Terna saw through her seemingly sporadic outburst and quickly pinned her to the wall with her plunger arm.  
"Hold. Her." The Dalek commanded.  
"I. Have. Got. Her." Terna replied. "Now. Help. Me. To. Get. Them. Inside." She nudged Susan forward for emphasis as the Dalek turned and opened the lift door. It slid open with the same mechanical hum as the cell door as the Dalek turned and stepped aside. Terna urged Susan, Barbara, Ian, and the Doctor into the room with the lift.  
"Shall. I. Escort. Them. To. The. Vault. Level. With. You?" the Dalek asked Terna.  
"No. Close. The. Doors," Terna asserted. "The. Girl. Cannot. Run. Far. In. Here." Wordlessly, the Dalek relented and exited the lift. The door shut behind it and the Doctor rushed over and pulled a cord out of the wall.  
"That activates the door," he explained.  
"That was a brilliant idea, Susan," Barbara congratulated her.  
"It didn't hurt you, did it?" Ian inquired of her, and Susan shook her head.  
"Can I get out of this thing now? I'm suffocating," Terna called breathlessly. Ian nodded, and he and the others attempted to pry the lid off.  
"I can't get this clasp free," Ian exclaimed through gritted teeth.  
"What?" Terna banged on the ceiling of the container. "Get me out!".  
"Will you calm down, Terna? We'll get you out," the Doctor called to her. As he spoke, the sound of an alarm suddenly ripped through the eerie quiet of the compound.  
"Oh no," Terna breathed.  
"Hang on. I got the lever free," the Doctor announced.  
"The lid still won't budge," Barbara strained.  
"Get me out of this thing," Terna pounded her hands against the lid.  
"Terna, try and open it up from the inside," Ian called to her.  
"I'm trying," Terna threw her elbow against the lid of the machine and then the sides, despite the pain it caused her to do so. She beat her feet and arms against the walls, but nothing budged.  
"Terna, stop; there's something jammed inside and forcing it's only going to make it worse," the Doctor called to her.  
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one jammed inside this thing," Terna spat back just as a dull pounding on the other side of the lift door could be heard. Susan rushed over towards the door and pressed her ear against it, listening. She suddenly shrieked and leapt back. "It's burning hot!" she cried. Terna swung her nozzle around and saw a thin film of heat steadily growing across the center of the door.  
"They're cutting through," Ian cried.  
"It's no good, Terna, we'll have to move you into the lift," Barbara declared as she and the Doctor attempted to shove the bulky machine into the waiting elevator. Terna shook around inside the machine, knocking against the walls. She banged her head on one side and an explosion of pain and lights lit up her vision. Gasping and groaning, she curled up in a small ball in the bottom of the machine. Faintly, she could hear the cries and shouts of the others as well as the humming of the Daleks systematically burning through the door.  
"Oh, it's stuck!" Susan cried.  
"I don't understand. It moved easy enough before," Barbara exclaimed.  
"They've magnetized the floor," the Doctor exclaimed grimly.  
"They what?" Barbara cried.  
"Can't you feel it?" the Doctor replied.  
"Terna? Terna, can you hear me?" Terna glanced up to see Ian looking at her through the lens. "We can't get you into the lift."  
Terna's insides twisted. She closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward into the microphone. "Then take the others and go," she said.  
"What? No! We're not leaving you down here!" Susan cried.  
"No point in us all dying," Terna shot back. "And that's what's going to happen if you stay down here."  
"Terna…" Susan started.  
"Go. Just go!" Terna cried, her voice breaking slightly.  
"We'll send the lift back down for you," the Doctor called to her.  
"No, Grandfather, we can't leave her," Susan cried.  
"Come on, Susan." The Doctor grabbed the girl's hand and tugged her towards the lift.  
"Terna, don't do this," Barbara whispered.  
"Come on, Barbara. We'll come back for you, Terna," he added. Terna closed her eyes, and her heart skipped a beat when she felt the others move away from the machine. She didn't dare watch them go. Soon she heard the faint hum of the lift going up, and then all that could be heard was the shrill grinding of the Daleks cutting through the door. Terna crumpled up on the machine floor, knocking weakly against the walls. But she didn't have the strength to create even the slightest impact on the firm walls of the Dalek shell. Terna's body felt hot with fatigue and fear, she leaned her face against the cold metal all around her, feeling tears prickling behind her eyes. Suddenly there was a violent shove against the sides of the machine, and Terna jumped in shock.  
"Wake up, Terna! I won't have you falling asleep on me."  
Terna gaped. "Time Lord? What are you doing?" she cried.  
"What's it look like?" the Doctor shot back. "I'm getting you out of there."  
"I told you to leave!" Terna cried.  
"I don't take orders from you," the Doctor shot back.  
"Well, you very well should," Terna replied, a false anger in her voice. "I was trying to help you. Now, you'll probably get yourself killed. You are a fool, Time Lord."  
"Maybe," Terna glanced up in shock when she saw the lid of the Dalek machine lift easily off the top. The Doctor poked his head into view, "But I'm the fool that's about to save your life."  
Terna stared at him in shock. "Well, don't just stand there gaping. Come on!" the Doctor cried, exasperated as he held his hand out to her.  
Terna denied it. "How did you get the lid open?" she demanded.  
"With this," the Doctor held out a small tool.  
Terna arched an eyebrow "A screwdriver?"  
"A sonic screwdriver," the Doctor asserted. Terna rolled her eyes as she attempted to hoist herself out of the machine. Her arms gave out as they gripped the rim, and her whole body trembled as she slumped against the side of the machine. Terna jerked her head when she heard the whining and felt the heat of the Daleks' cutting devices. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that they had almost cut a hole clean through the doors.  
"They're almost through, and the lifts not back down," Terna whispered, her voice bleak.  
"Terna…"  
"We're not getting out of here!"  
"Terna, look at me!" Terna turned back towards the Doctor, taken aback by the intensity in his voice. Their eyes met: blue on blue, although one a lot more intense than the other and shining with tears. However, as Terna looked at the Doctor's eyes, she couldn't help but find them to be rather pleasant, but also eerie as though there was something off about them.  
"Terna, I promise, I'll get you out of here," the Doctor whispered. Terna felt his hand close around her wrist, but she didn't jerk away this time. Suddenly, with more strength than she thought he had, the Doctor wrapped his arms around Terna and lifted her from the machine, gathering her up bridal style. Eyes wide in surprise, Terna wrapped her arms around his neck, suddenly feeling very faint.  
"I've got you," he whispered in her ear. They suddenly heard the chimes of the lift as it touched back down on their floors. Terna dared breathe a sigh of relief, and the Doctor dashed towards it as the lift doors opened, pressing the top floor button as he went. As he crossed the threshold, Terna heard the Dalek guns cease their cutting, followed by the thunderous crash of the doors collapsing into the room. "Stop!" The Doctor spun around just as the lift doors closed, and they caught a glimpse of the room feeling with Daleks. "Press. The. Emergency. Button. Bring. Them. Back. Down," Terna and the Doctor heard one of the Daleks command as the lift began to move, slowly towards the ground level of the city.  
"Let them try," the Doctor laughed. "I put a lock on the emergency button with the sonic screwdriver. They'll need to override it."  
"How long will that take?" Terna demanded.  
"Oh, a few minutes."  
"We don't have a few minutes," Terna cried.  
"Then let's just hope this is a fast elevator," the Doctor declared simply. It wasn't: the ride in the lift felt like an eternity. The machine moved at a snail's pace. Terna clutched the Doctor tighter in spite of herself, feeling her fingers tremble with a mixture of exhaustion and fear. The lift was moving too slowly; one of the Daleks would push the emergency button and they'd be brought down and gunned down any moment. Waves of fatigue washed over Terna. Her Force Amina levels were at an all-time low. In spite of herself, she closed her eyes and her head slumped against the Doctor's shoulder.  
"Terna, what's your favorite color?" Terna's eyes snapped open. She stared at him in surprise. "I'm simply trying to distract you," he explained.  
"I don't need to be distracted," Terna spat. "You're treating me like a child."  
"Well, I am carrying you like an infant," the Doctor observed.  
"Must you remind me?" Terna grumbled.  
"It's only awkward if you make it awkward," the Doctor mused.  
"You made it awkward," Terna shot back.  
"Just tell me what your favorite color is," the Doctor exclaimed. "I'm simply trying to ease the tension, and you're acting like it's an affront your personal space."  
"Don't talk to me about personal space," Terna grumbled.  
"You're the one with your arms around my neck," the Doctor stated.  
Terna stiffened. "Blue," she said after a pause.  
The Doctor chuckled. "Oh really? I couldn't have guessed," he added, noting the folds of Terna's blue dress splayed out across her arms.  
"Now's not the time for sarcasm," Terna snapped.  
"There's always a time for sarcasm," the Doctor asserted. "And for the record, blue's my favorite color too."  
"Good for you," Terna grumbled.  
"Grandfather!" At that moment, they heard Susan's voice coming from higher up the shaft.  
"Susan?" the Doctor called back.  
"Are you alright?" Ian called. "Do you have Terna?"  
"Yes, we're fine," the Doctor replied. As the lift climbed higher, the others slowly came into view; all crowded around the open lift doors. At that moment, the lift suddenly stopped dead with it only partially filling the empty space.  
"Seems the Daleks finally managed to push the emergency button. Good ol' sonic screwdriver."  
"Couldn't you have just used that to open the cell door_ hours_ ago?" Terna cried.  
"Doors were locked from the outside, my dear Terna," the Doctor replied simply as he hoisted her up over the rim of the open doorway and into Ian's waiting arms.  
"Alright, Terna?" he inquired.  
Terna stared at him, breathless. "Could be worse," she replied simply.  
"You're welcome, by the way," the Doctor added as Susan and Barbara helped him out of the lift.  
Terna glanced at him and again saw that strange factor in his eyes. There was something off about them, something eerily different, and she couldn't put her finger on what.

A/N: Apologies this was late by the way, I'm having trouble formatting this seven episode serial down to size. Hope it was worth the wait.

*Translation: In virtute Dei, quod factum est inferni?!- By the might of God, what the hell just happened?!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: My apologies for not updating, I got the flu last week. Anyways, I'm back! Quick note as well is that I mashed Terna and the Doctor's first person perspective chapters together into one as the following chapter NEEDS to be in third person. It's easier to write that way. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 9: Thal

Bad luck seems to come for me in spades as of late. Wonder what I did to piss it off so much. Well, can't think about that right now or anything really. My head hurts.

"Are you alright, Grandfather?" Susan inquired of the Doctor.

"Yes, but we must find a way out of this room," the Doctor replied, straightening up and glancing around.

I did as well. We were in a low-ceilinged space, empty except for a series of bizarre, twisted sculptures in the middle of the room. The ceiling and floors were both white like the halls, but the walls were all windows. "Daylight!" Barbara cried, rushing up to press her face against the nearest one.

"Where are we?" Ian inquired.

"Right at the top of the building, I can just see the edge of the city," the Doctor replied, moving to stand beside Barbara and pointing out the window. "And see? There's the edge of the petrified jungle."

"Oh yeah." Ian and Susan helped me over to the window, and the latter craned his neck to see over Barbara and the Doctor. "I'm trying to remember what roads we came down."

"Yes, everything looks the same from above," Barbara agreed. "Perhaps there's-," she stopped. "Ian," she called.

"What is it?" Ian rushed over to her, sensing the urgency in her voice.

"I saw something move," Barbara whispered, pointing towards the city wall. "Over there, by that gateway. I saw someone run across that space."

"A Dalek?" the Doctor offered.

"No, it was a man," Barbara asserted.

"The Thals!" Susan exclaimed. "They've come for the food supplies."

"If that's so, then they're walking right into an ambush," I declared.

"We have to warn them!" Susan cried, rushing up to the window and banging vigorously on the glass. I staggered back, left with no one to support me, and collapsed against the wall while the others gathered around Susan and pounded their hands against the glass. They hollered and cried and beat the glass, but nothing happened.

"It's no use," Ian exclaimed. "This room must be sound proof. We must find a way down there."

"Yes, but how, dear boy?" the Doctor demanded.

I glanced down dejectedly. Wait, the wall I'm leaning against had a threshold.

"Hey, this is a door!" I cried, attempting to sit up.

"Yes, it is!" Ian exclaimed rushing to help me away from the door. Stupid legs, if only I could walk and didn't have to carried around like a cripple. "Here. Doctor, open it."

The Doctor obliged, waving his hand over the panel beside the door. Nothing happened. He tried again.

"What's wrong with it?" Susan cried.

"Oh, they've magnetized it too!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Come on, let's try and force it open." He and Ian then threw themselves against the door, attempting to pry it apart from the wall with their fingers.

Just then, I heard a faint humming sound. Not good. "The lift's coming back up!" I cried. Daleks on the rise, literally. Shit!

"Hang on, I think it's starting to move," Ian cried, shoving his shoulder against the door as it moved but a few inches. "Here, Doctor, keep trying to get it open." As Ian spoke, he rushed over to the elevator where Barbara, Susan, and me were already crowded around in a worried huddled. He quickly tried to push the return button, but the lift only continued to steadily rise closer towards us. "It's no good," Ian cried desperately. I threw my hands up in dismay. It was about all I was good for.

"If only we had a really heavy weight we could use to weigh it down or plug up the shaft or something," I exclaimed. Ian whirled around; he glanced towards me and then towards the center of the room. I followed his gaze to see he was looking at the twisted sculptures that seemed to be decorating the space.

"Terna, you're a genius," Ian cried as he rushed over and attempted to drag one of the stone pieces over to the lift doorway. "Come over here and give me a hand," he called to Susan and Barbara, who quickly obliged. Pushing all together, the three of them shoved the stone structure nearly too slowly across the tower floor and then out and over the rim of the lift shaft. It fell in steady silence and then CRASH. There was a sound like electrical shocks and splintering metal as well as the crumbling of stone raining down the empty space, tumbling back to the ground in a mess of rock and broken lift capsule.

"I've got the door open!" the Doctor cried, slightly strained.

"Alright, we've weighted the odds a little more in our favor. Now, let's get out of here," Ian declared and no one needed to be told twice. Ian stepped aside and held the partially ajar door open for the Doctor, Susan, and Barbara and then braced it with his foot so as to pick me up and carry me through the tight space.

"I do hope we get back to the TARDIS soon," I grumbled as we raced down the hall, Ian jostling me about in his uneven grasp. "I'm getting sick of all of you having to lug me around."

"Yes, I'm sure its exhausting," the Doctor called back from the head of the group.

"And besides, you're a Queen, aren't you? You should be used to this," Ian added, flashing me a cheeky grin.

I scowled in response. "I'll have you know, human, in my true form, I have strength beyond your comprehension. I did not require the aid of my subjects for something as silly as simple mobility." Ian laughed. We ran down the hall at a frantic pace, passing hall after hall of plain, white sameness. I squeezed my eyes shut and rested my head in the crook of Ian's neck as I bumped along, feeling a sense of weightlessness wash over me. This was bad, really bad. I was at my barest minimum for Force Amina, only the smallest amount was available keeping me tethered to this form. I could feel my heartbeat accelerate and my breathing hitch. If I ran out of Amina completely, then the majority of my soul I kept within it would return to the rest of my core inside the TARDIS Heart. I'd barely survived that the first time around; I wasn't certain I'd be able to do it again.

"Stop!" Susan suddenly cried. I reopened my eyes to see everyone had skidded to a halt at a doorway that was filled with pale daylight; the outermost workings of the city could be seen beyond the threshold. "I recognize this place," Susan explained. "This is the gate we entered when we were trying to find mercury and beyond this is the archway that leads back into the jungle."

"We're almost out!" Barbara exclaimed, breathless with fatigue and relief.

"Do you see any Daleks?" I asked weakly.

Susan leaned cautiously forward on the very tips of her toes and glanced left to right. "No, it's safe."

"Alright, let's head back to the ship," the Doctor announced.

"No! We can't," Susan cried. "We have to warn the Thals."

"Now, Susan…" the Doctor started.

"They're walking right into a trap!" Susan interrupted.

"The Thals are no concern of ours," the Doctor replied sharply. "We cannot jeopardize our lives in an affair that's none of our business."

"Of course it's our business," Barbara asserted firmly. "It was the Thals that gave us the radiation drugs. Without that, we'd be dead."

"The Thals are walking into a massacre, ignorant and blind," I mused grimly. "But what can we do? We can't even take care of ourselves against the Daleks. How are we to aid the Thals? We must do something but what?"

"We will do something, but there's no point in us risking our entire party," Ian declared as he abruptly passed me to the Doctor. Again, I felt like a baby. "Here, you take Terna and get her, Susan, and Barbara out of here, Doctor. Careful, she's in real bad shape," he added as the Doctor fumbled with me.

"If you drop me, I swear to God, Time Lord…" I grumbled through clenched teeth.

"Well, it seems your mouth's still in good shape," the Doctor mused. "But what are you going to do?" he added to Ian.

"I'm going to stay here and warn the Thals," Ian replied.

"No, you can't. We're in the together; we should stick together!" Susan cried.

"Susan, you do as I say," Ian asserted sharply. "You go back to the ship with Barbara, Terna, and your Grandfather."

"No, you can't-" Susan attempted to argue further, but Barbara cut her off.

"I know what Ian is saying. He'll do much better on his own if he doesn't have us to worry about. Now, come on." She put her arm around Susan's shoulders as the young girl's lip started to tremble in a mixture of desperate anger and grief. "We'll wait for you," she added to Ian; her voice quiet as she patted his arm slightly with her free hand. Ian nodded.

"Good luck, Chesterton," the Doctor added quickly before hurrying off after Barbara and Susan, dragging me along. I glanced over the Doctor's shoulder.

"Ian!" I called as he turned to leave. Ian whirled around, surprise evident on his face as it, I would later learn from him, was the first time I'd addressed him by name. "You come back, you hear me." I called firmly. Ian nodded; the hint of a smile on his lips before he spun on his heel and dashed back into the building.

We made it through and out of the city in pretty good time. Sticking to the faded shadows the buildings cast in the hopes of giving us even a little concealment. I rested my head on the Doctor's shoulder, my eyes no longer having the strength to remain open. I felt bone tired, a dull throb like the pain of an old wound pulsing throughout my body.

"T-Time Lord…" I tried to say something, but my voice was choked in my throat.

"I've had to carry you a lot, haven't I?" the Doctor grunted, and I could vaguely feel him shift my position in his grasp. "Luckily, you're not as heavy as you look."

I heard the jab and wished to respond, but I could feel myself slipping, a witty retort poised on the tip of my tongue. "Terna? Terna!" the Doctor cried in alarm as my body went limp in his arms. I could feel the darkness closing in around me as well as the scalding fire of the TARDIS somewhere off in the distance. If I returned to it, I would burn. "Terna…Terna! Can you hear me?" I think the Doctor was calling my name, but he sounded really far away.

"What's wrong with her?" Was that Barbara?

"To put it simply, she's dying," the Doctor replied. Am I? Huh, didn't think I'd ever do that. I felt faint, delirious and giddy, like my body was rocking on the waves of a calm ocean, the rippling waters creating a soft cushion underneath me. It was nice, peaceful…cold

A felt an icy liquid sloshing down my dry throat, some of the ocean water must have spilled into my mouth. It felt good, thick and cool as it filled my mouth with a sweet flavor, like honeysuckle nectar. I attempted to swallow, but my throat was too thick from lack of air. I choked forcefully, and some of the water came back up. I groaned, feeling it grate across the sides of my sore mouth. God, my head hurt. It felt like someone had tried to knock a large metal bolt into it. My eyelids fluttered lazily, at first I caught nothing but flashes of grey through my eyelashes, and then my eyes drifted shut again. I tried to open them more fully and succeeded this time as an image came into view.

My heart leapt into my throat.

A pale face was resting not an inch from me. I screamed. The face screamed back. I sat bolt upright, still crying out in alarm as the owner of the face jumped away from me, dropping a ladle filled with a clear liquid. It splattered all over the TARDIS floor as the instrument fell with a clatter. Hang on…the TARDIS!

I stopped screaming, snapping my mouth shut as I gazed around. I was lying on the Greek sofa; the TARDIS console was pumping and whizzing beside me in a hazy flurry of lights and noise. I'd never thought I'd be happy at the sight of those polished white walls or mess of buttons. I shifted into a sitting position, and upon doing so, I could see that the face's owner was cowering against the back wall. Now able to examine her fully, I could see that it was a woman. She was stunningly beautiful with clear, alabaster skin and glossy white-blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. Her figure was fine and delicate, her eyes bright and shinning with a brilliant blue (not as bright as mine of course.) She was dressed in stripes of worn cloth that hugged her body in all the right places. Her full lips trembled, as did the rest of her, shaking like a delicate leaf at the sight of me. I opened my mouth, intending to demand who she was when a second figure suddenly barreled in through the surprisingly open TARDIS doors.

"Dyoni! What's happened?" the man demanded, stopping dead at the sight of the frightened girl.

My first thought: Why hello handsome. This man was pale and fair like the woman with the same light eyes and flawless features; his body was chiseled and sharp, his expression calm but also with a layer of intensity and determination underneath. "Are you alright?" the man asked the girl called Dyoni, gently helping her to her feet. He paused when his eyes fell on me. "Ah, I see you're awake."

"Evidently. Who are you?" I demanded.

"Forgive me. We must have startled you," the woman exclaimed, breaking from the man's grasp and rushing back over to me. "I am Dyoni, and this is Alydon," she explained, gesturing to the man.

"Alydon?" I glanced at him. "Susan spoke of you."

"Indeed, I encountered the young Susan in the forest and sought to aid her."

"So, you're Thals?" I surmised. Dyoni nodded. "What are you doing inside the TARDIS?" I demanded

"Oh, the Doctor asked me to keep an eye on you while you were sleeping inside this tent," Dyoni quickly explained.

"We met up with your party on the edge of the petrified jungle. We set up our camp beside yours while we wait for our meeting party to return from the Dalek city. You were in pretty bad shape, and we offered to care for you until you were well."

"Where are the others?" I inquired.

"Hang on, I shall fetch them," Alydon replied simply. He exited the TARDIS; Dyoni watched him go. I caught a familiar gleam in her eyes. Seems pretty boy's taken.

Dyoni turned back to me. "How are you feeling?" She regarded me with an earnest concern in her eyes that was a little off-putting, taking both my hands in her own and squeezing them firmly.

I wasn't sure how to respond to it; I licked my dry lips. "Can I have a drink of water?" I croaked.

"Of course." Dyoni quickly gathered up the fallen ladle and the clay bowl of the sweet water and handed it to me. I downed the whole thing in one gulp.

"Better?" Dyoni inquired.

I swallowed thickly. "Yes, much better."

"I'm glad. Your husband is a very loving man by the way," Dyoni added with a knowing smile.

I choked on the remainder of the sugar water. "What? Husband? What are you talking about?"

"Why the man that carried you in his arms all the way here from the Dalek city of course," Dyoni cried as though this was obvious. "A man like that, you are a lucky woman."

"What? You mean the Time Lord?" I sputtered. "You've got it wrong. Him and I…we're not."

"Terna!" Thankfully, Susan saved me from a very awkward conversation as she and the Doctor both entered the TARDIS, accompanied by Alydon. "Are you feeling any better?" the young Time Lady asked.

"Much better," I replied, slowly getting to my feet and nudging Dyoni aside. "Why don't you get away from me; you Thals are quite touchy."

"It was amazing, Terna," Susan exclaimed. "We brought you into the TARDIS, and Grandfather laid you down and then there was this burst of blue fire that consumed everything and then it all went inside you."

"That would be Force Amina," I explained, "the central force of all life."

"Indeed, it was almost as striking as your eyes," Alydon mused. Dyoni shot him a jealous glare.

"My eyes are made of it," I replied simply.

"We got here just in time too," Susan continued. "And Grandfather carried you all the way," she added.

The Doctor snorted indignantly. "Yes and my rheumatism is going to be complaining about it later. I hope you're grateful." I laughed, more from relief than anything else.

"It's not funny!" the Doctor insisted.

"Yeah, it kinda is," I replied with a snort.

"It is not," the Doctor insisted.

"Thank you." I abruptly stopped laughing. The Doctor stared at me, taken aback, and flushed deeply.

"Yes, whatever," he turned to leave. I smiled after him, but that soon faded.

"Wait, where's Barbara…and Ian!" I cried, remembering the state we'd left the latter in before I'd passed out.

"Barbara's just outside," Susan explained. "As for Ian, he's not back yet."

"What?" I was aghast.

"None of them are," Alydon stated grimly. "We sent our leader Temmosus and some others to meet with the Daleks about food. I understand your friend stayed behind to warn them of an apparent ambush. At this moment, none have returned."

I felt my heart skip a beat, and I knew it wasn't from a loss of Amina. "That's not good."

"No, it isn't," the Doctor agreed. "In the meantime, I've been trying to figure out where we are."

I arched an eyebrow. "What? The TARDIS can't tell you?"

"No. As a matter of fact, I need your help with something, Terna." The Doctor beckoned to me as he headed out of the TARDIS.

"What? You want my help? The great and prideful Time Lord is asking aide of a Lyall?"

"Weren't you the one that just sang my praises for saving your life a moment ago?" the Doctor shot back.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, Time Lord," I spat, quickly following him out of the TARDIS. "I said thank you, that's all."

The Doctor laughed. "And that was enough."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.

Alydon, Dyoni, and Susan watched us go.

"Are they always like this?" Dyoni asked the latter.

Susan nodded in dismay.

Upon exiting the TARDIS, I found myself in the same dusty, grey clearing in the middle of the petrified jungle, although now it wasn't so quiet and eerie. At least a couple dozen Thals were scattered about the TARDIS. Having pitched tents, many were gathered in worried groups under the leaning structures, some were pacing in agitation. A few of the men stood guard on the edge of the clearing, peering anxiously into the darkness. The pale sun shining through the stone branches told me it was early evening. All of the Thals looked identical to Dyoni and Alydon: they were all fair and pale with stunningly beautiful features, and they were all scantily clad with most of the man practically bare-chested. I blushed heavily as a few men walked by.

Get a hold of yourself, Terna, I shook my head. I spied Barbara surrounded by a few male Thals; her dark hair and heavier clothing standing out like a fly in milk amongst the crowd. She had the same mask of worry upon her face that I knew was for Ian, who had still not returned. She feared the worst, as we all did.

"Terna, this way." I was snapped out of my reverie by the Doctor leading me over to a large grey chest that sat open on the grass. The chest was old and worn with a pair of support beams attached to either side meant to hoist it up onto people's shoulders so it could be carried great distances. Judging from the weathered look of the capsule, I'd say it had seen a lot of travel.

"I'm getting an Arc of the Covenant vibe," I declared, slipping my hands into the pocket of my dress and wilting slightly when I didn't feel the comforting wood of my magnifying glass. I remembered the Daleks had taken it. Shame, I liked that magnifying glass...

"Well, this is sort of an Arc," the Doctor explained as he picked his way through the items inside. The chest was filled to the brim with smaller capsules and boxes, pages of books and manuscripts, stone writings in some alien tongue, as well as roles of what looked like film footage. "This chest is the most precious item of the Thal people," the Doctor explained. "It's the last of the knowledge they possessed before the great war with the Daleks. Apparently, they were once an advanced society."

"You're like a kid in a candy store," I mused with a snicker as the Doctor rifled through the ancient treasures of the Thal people.

"Would you stop condescending and help me with this?" the Doctor snapped irritably.

"Fine, fine," I sighed, dropping to my knees beside him. "What exactly do you need my help with?"

"This," the Doctor explained, pulling from the chest a series of hexagon shaped pieces. He laid them out on the dirt in front of me, and I could see that the pieces came together to form a picture of sorts. A dark backdrop speckled with dozens of stars.

"It's a map," I deduced.

"Indeed, a record of this planet's solar system that must go back at least half a million years," the Doctor explained, seemingly ecstatic at the thought. "Can you imagine the advancements these people must have made to be able to see this far into space?"

I glanced down at the map. "So, where are we?"

"Right here." The Doctor pointed to a small white speck amongst a dusty mass of a solar system.

"I see," I leaned in closer towards the spot the Doctor had indicated. Some small increment of familiarity was certainly nagging at the back of my mind at the sight of this map. "I wish I could see this more clearly," I muttered, squinting down at the faded images.

"Do you want to borrow my glasses?" the Doctor offered.

"No, I don't want to borrow your glasses," I snapped back. Then I saw it, nestled on the very edge. "No, it can't be!" I cried, my head snapping back up. "Is there any more of this map?"

"Yes, there are a few more pieces," the Doctor replied, reaching into the chest and pulling out a few more shards.

"Lemme see!" I cried, snatching them from the Doctor's grasp and fitting them into place, completing the map a little further. There it was, nestled amongst a mass of dust and fire, burning as brightly as a sun, but it wasn't a sun. It was a planet, a very specific planet. As I looked down at the map, I felt a rush of a dozen emotions at once, too many to name. My eyes prickled with tears.

"Terna?"

"That's it, isn't it?" I whispered, tenderly reaching out to touch the image. "That's Eedonya. My home planet."

"You mean the planet of the Lyall?" the Doctor cried.

"The very same," I nodded. "Which means, if we're on this planet…." I pointed to the one the Doctor had indicated. "Then we're on a planet my people used to oversee, back during the Great Lyall Empire. If my memory serves me, that space is occupied by the Planet Skaro."

The Doctor stared at me, blinking in astonishment. "So, that's where we are? A planet you once ruled? Skaro?"

"I do believe so," I agreed. Suddenly, something snapped in the back of my mind like a rubber band. A burst of mental pain shot up my spine and a series of images suddenly coursed before my eyes. Images of fire, screams, pain, and blood, visions of death, destruction, and terror. Fear, unimaginable fear hung thick in the air, mixing with the smoke and the scent of death as the wounded lay screaming and flailing on the ground. It's hard to kill a Lyall, but if you do, they die slowly. My scream mixed with the cries in my mind as I staggered back, shrieking and beating at the air, trying to knock away the sights and sounds as they exploded out from the rip in my mind. The hole in my head, this was what I'd forgotten and now I was remembering. Fear what you know; fear what you will soon learn…

"Terna. Terna!" I felt the Doctor shaking me. As the images dissipated, I looked up to see that the Doctor, Susan, Barbara, Alydon, and Dyoni were all gathered around me; the same expression of concern and slight fear etched on their faces. I blinked rapidly, trying to clear it, but the things I'd just seen still flashed across my vision every time I'd closed my eyes, imprinted on my eyelids like stains.

"Terna, what happened?" Barbara asked, gently helping me sit up. "You're trembling," she whispered.

"I'm fine," I insisted, staggering to my feet and stumbling a few paces away from the group. I paused to lean against a tree. I could feel the emptiness of it pulsing under my fingers and this only made the racing of my own heart, the beating of my own blood, the rattle of my breathing in my chest all the more vibrant. The memories coursed through me, almost crippling me again. I squeezed my eyes shut as my subconscious attempted to suppress them again, to spare me the pain and the suffering. No. I willed myself to hold them, to grasp them firmly, to remember.

"Please, Terna, let us help you," I flinched when I felt Barbara's hand on my arm. I turned to face her and saw my fearful expression reflected in her eyes. I took a deep breath, hoping to contain myself. "I was right. There was a war," I whispered.

"A war with the Daleks?" Susan asked.

I nodded. "Yes, my people did learn of Skaro's rebellion against us and they attempted to quell the uprising, but we underestimated the Daleks, and they caught us off guard."

"But how could the Daleks have defeated you?" the Doctor demanded. "The Lyall are among the strongest and most powerful beings to ever exist. Nothing can withstand them, let alone combat them."

"That's what we thought," I stated, slumping down against the tree. "But Lyall are not invincible, and the Daleks learned of a way to kill us."

"How did they manage that?" the Doctor demanded.

I clenched my fists. "By using our own power against us," I explained through gritted teeth. "The only thing powerful enough to kill a Lyall is another Lyall. The Daleks discovered that when we attack with our Psychic Amina, we leave a thin, transparent coating of energy across the objects we destroyed. The Daleks developed that into weapon." I paused to take a shaky breath. "It was…effective."

"But if beings as powerful as you were defeated by the Daleks than there's no hope for us," Barbara wailed.

"Not necessarily," the Doctor asserted. "The Lyall may have been forced to retreat, but they have left the Daleks weakened and exposed in their wake. They are not as strong as they were and there are fewer in number. We must harness their weaknesses and use them to our advantage. Tell me, Terna, how did the war end?"

I glanced up. "I…I don't remember. I don't think I have everything back yet. The first round was such a painful rush, I think my mind may have locked some of it back up again."

"Oh, do try to remember," the Doctor exclaimed. "The information you manage to retain could be vital."

"You're right," I uncurled my fists and slowly rose to my feet. "I need not just to remember, but I need to prepare."

"Prepare? What do you mean?" Alydon asked.

"I need to find a Gyrum*."

"What exactly are you going to do with this Gyrum, Terna?" Susan inquired as the others followed me away from the clearing and off into the dense and silent jungle.

"I'm going to stick my fingers in it and drain it for all its worth," I declared. "Hopefully it will give me the power I need as well as enough of an electrical pulse to jog my memory fully."

"What exactly is a Gyrum?" Dyoni inquired in a small voice.

"It's like a bank vault," I explained, but stop when I see Dyoni's confused expression. Right, she lives in the woods; I doubt she knows what a vault or a bank is. Silly me. "A Gyrum is an underground temple of sorts which Lyall had their subjects construct."

"You mean like…slavery?" I could hear the judgment in Barbara's voice before I turned to face her and see that her expression was covered in it.

"We paid them…sort of." My voice trailed off. "Whatever, that doesn't matter now. Anyway, Gyrum's were used to store extra recesses of Psychic and Force Amina. A kind of back-up power supply in case we were ever in a pinch and had need of it. It came in handy especially during wartime, which is why I'm pretty certain there'd be one nearby as we are on Skaro."

"Do you really think it wise to venture away from the clearing?" Alydon interrupted me, casting a weary glace over his shoulder as the thick trees closed in around us."

"I didn't ask you to come with me," I reminded him. "You can return to the clearing whenever you want."

"Alydon does have a point though," the Doctor interjected. "It would be wise not to remain in the forest too long. What if Ian and the others return while we are gone? Therefore, I think it wise we do not spend too much time stumbling about in the brush searching for this thing. Tell me, Terna; is there some kind of specific sign or marking that could direct you to the location of this Gyrum?"

"Of course there is," I replied, slightly miffed. "Look for a symbol carved into a tree that looks like an upside down upper case L," I explained.

"Where would that be carved?" Alydon asked.

"I dunno, anywhere, I guess," I replied.

"Oh, that's comforting," the Doctor grumbled as he and Alydon headed off towards a cluster of dense foliage, Dyoni trailing silently behind them.

"Terna, look at this!" Susan suddenly cried. I glanced her way to see she was crouched in the ashy dirt, her small fingers pawing after a small object glittering amongst the pale ash.

"What is it, Susan?" Barbara asked at the same time I demanded: "How the hell did she spot that?"

"I don't know," Susan straightened up, the small object poised in her palm. It gleamed faintly in the pale light, coated thickly in grey dust.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked Barbara as the human woman leaned forward so as to examine it closer.

"Why, it's a ring," she exclaimed, plucking the object from Susan's palm and gently blowing away the ashy particles.

I eyed the object keenly, the familiar gleam of the metal and stone that looped together into a circular band. I drew in a sharp breath. "That's mine," I whispered.

Barbara and Susan glanced up in surprise. "What? It's yours?" Barbara cried.

"Lemme see," I whispered. Gingerly, Susan passed the ring to me.

I fought to keep my fingers from shaking as I clasped the small object in my fingers. "Yes…Yes, this is definitely mine," I confirmed.

"How can you tell?" Susan asked.

"See, the E carved on the side?" I gestured to a small letter carved faintly into the side of the band. "E for Eternal, that's how you can tell this is a royal ring. Also, the ring is set with sapphire stones. Those were my chosen gemstones. Therefore, you could distinguish my ring from my sisters and brothers."

"It really is beautiful, Terna," Susan declared.

"Yeah, it really is," I whispered, turning the ring through my fingers. What a lucky find. I couldn't believe we had landed the TARDIS so near to the place where I'd lost my ring. Where….I felt my body go cold as the memories stirred within the depths of my mind.

"It's the infinity symbol," Barbara suddenly cried, startling me from my reverie. "I thought it was an eight, but when you turn it a certain way."

"Hey, you're right," Susan agreed.

I glanced at Barbara. "You know of this symbol?"

"Yes, of course. It's used on my planet to represent eternity, endless," Barbara explained.

"Well, that's rather fitting," I declared.

"How do you mean?" Susan inquired.

I smiled. "Eternal is more than a name, Susan." Susan and Barbara regarded me with looks of confusion.

"Terna, Terna!" Dyoni's voice rang out through the thicket before I could explain further. "Alydon found the symbol you were looking for."

"Really? Great," I cried, quickly tucking the ring into the pocket of my dress before racing off after the young Thal, Susan and Barbara close behind.

The Doctor and Alydon were gathered around a low rock that was half set into the thin earth, creating an overhang of sorts into a ditch that dropped down sharply into a craggy tunnel below. Carved above the entrance, into the rock, was the upside down L I had indicated.

"But that's gamma*!" Barbara cried.

"Gamma? What's that?" Dyoni inquired.

"Gamma's a letter in the Greek Alphabet if I'm not mistaken," the Doctor mused.

"Yes, it is," Barbara confirmed.

"It also means photon, as in light," I explained. "Therefore, it was like a lantern of sorts, used to guide us to the Gyrum."

"Well, hurry up and gather whatever it is you need in there," Alydon urged me, once again glancing around. "I do not like the feel of these woods; they grow far too close to the Dalek city."

I pursed my lips. Nodding, I quickly ducked down under the rocky outcropping and slipped down into the cool, damp tunnel it shielded.

"What's it like down there, Terna?" Susan called after me.

"Musty," I replied with a sneeze.

"Do you see the Gyrum?" I glanced back to see the Doctor was crouched at the mouth of the cave, leaning precariously over the side so I almost thought he'd fall in after me. I smiled.

"If you want to come along, you can, Time Lord."

The Doctor snorted. "Do not mock my curiousity for a potentially fascinating scientific venture," he snapped before sliding down into the cave with Susan close behind, the latter's fairy-like features pale in the dim light. "Also, I do not require your permission to accompany you, Terna," the Doctor added.

"As a matter of fact you do," I asserted as Barbara staggered down the rugged slope after Susan, stumbling slightly on her worn heels. "You are about to enter sacred ground, after all," I reminded him.

"Alydon, are you coming?" Susan called back up.

"No, Dyoni and I shall remain here. We will keep watch," Alydon declared.

"Suit yourself," I murmured before turning and slowly making my way along the narrow, sloping path. The others followed close behind me. It wasn't long before the walls around us narrowed and the ceiling sloped drastically downward. The ground dipped as well, so I practically had to slide on my butt in order to avoid tripping and falling forward. The air around us was stale, dark, and seemed to press forcefully on us the deeper we went.

"How much further?" Barbara called from the back of the group, seemingly with great difficulty as she urged herself along the uneven ground.

"Not much further. I believe….AUGH!" I screamed as the ground suddenly fell away from under me, morphing into the lip of a slight cliff.

"Terna!" Susan cried in alarm, rushing towards me as I fell, crashing down hard on my back in a rather unceremonious manner. "Are you alright?" Susan inquired, peering cautiously over the side of the outcropping.

"Never better," I grumbled, coughing thickly as I sat up, taking a moment to let the ache of the fall run from my limbs. Sitting up, I glanced around to find that I had fallen into a kind of long-ceiling cavern with craggy walls speckled with thick stalagmites and stalactites. They protruded from the walls, floors, and ceiling like jagged teeth and dotted around the edge of a dense, deep pool that spawned from the center of the floor. Within the pool was not water, for it quenched a thirst deep within my soul that traced back to the very conception of life, the very matter of my being. Force and Psychic Amina swirled together in a vibrant and frantic dance, mixed with the deep, sapphire blue depth of Force and the thin, bright pale aqua of Psychic. The surged together in a storm of light and energy.

"Hey, I think I found the Gyrum," I announced.

"That's the understatement of the century. We can see the light from here," the Doctor called back.

"I was being facetious, you moron. Get a sense of sarcasm," I shot back as I hastily got to my feet and picked my way across the uneven ground towards the Amina pool.

"Be careful, Terna," Susan urged ".

"Please," I scoffed. "I know exactly what I'm doing."

"Perhaps you ought to take my granddaughter's advice," the Doctor mused. "Who knows? The Daleks may have found this place and tampered with the Amina."

I paused, my fingers outstretched, hovering over the iridescent waters. A seed of doubt was planted in my mind but I stiffened my resolve before it could germinate properly. Taking a deep breath, I plunged my hands up to the elbows in the Amina. An electric feeling shot up my limbs, sparking within every pore of my skin as it seeped into my body, hot and cold at the same time. My body locked itself up into a state of paralysis, shock at the sensations of the Amina pouring and pooling beneath my flesh, running thick and fast through my blood. I sucked in a sharp as a rush of emotions surged through me, felt all at once and then replaced by a sudden emptiness as the tides within me quelled.

Slowly, and without opening my eyes, I straightened up and brought my arms down to my sides. The tips of my fingers brushed the edge of polished wood projecting from my pocket.

Surprised, I opened my eyes and glanced down. My expression brightened. My magnifying glass…

()()()

"Terna!" Susan screamed in a mixture of alarm and fear as the Lyall plunged her arms into the depths of the Gyrum. There was a blinding flash of light that unfolded out like the petals of a photonic flower from the center of the cavern, its petals spreading out to ricochet off the walls of the space and send them hurtling back towards us with greater intensity. "Terna!" Susan repeated.

"Stay where you are, child," I ordered, holding her back against my chest as I shielded both her and myself from the light's glare. "Terna knows what she's doing." I hope.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the blue light dissipated and left nothing but the speckled ghost of its glare splattered across my vision. Blinking rapidly, I released a struggling Susan from my grasp, and the young girl quickly scrambled down the slope and into the cavern after Terna, Barbara close behind.

They worry too much.

All the same, and despite the fact that my exhausted limbs protested, I followed them down the uneven outcropping, and I hastily made my way over to the edge of the Amina pool, who's light had diminished somewhat, to where Terna was standing in a kind of daze.

"Terna?" Susan asked cautiously, taking a step towards her. Her back was to us, so I couldn't see her expression.

"Terna, are you alright?" Barbara inquired.

Terna turned to face us and her expression unfolded into a grin almost as blinding as the light from the Amina pool as she'd absorbed it. "Never better," she declared.

"Did you get all of your memories back?" I inquired.

"Yep" Terna replied, reaching into her pocket. "I also found my magnifying glass." Was it my imagination or did the light of Terna's smile seem almost too bright? Shining like plastic, it was vibrant and fake. True, Terna always had a kind of unnatural glow about her pale skin, but now it seemed almost like an opaque covering to shield some kind of darkness. It was that same darkness that sometimes flashed somewhere in the corner of Terna's intense eyes.

"It was in your pocket the whole time?" Susan exclaimed of the magnifying glass. "I thought the Daleks took it from you?"

"I must have called it back somehow," Terna mused, gently turning the magnifying glass over in her fingers. As she did so, flashes of Amina curled up from the hilt of the glass and spread their way across the surface of the glass. Terna arched an eyebrow in surprise at the sight of the yellow flames, and I also caught a glimpse of something else, that same dark and foreboding cross her face. But it was gone in a moment, swallowed by the light. In fact, she seemed to be glowing both metaphorically and quite literally, even a few of the lines seemed to have vanished from her face.

"What are you looking at?" Terna's question snapped me out of my reverie.

"Nothing," I replied, quickly averting my eyes. "Now, come on. If you're quite finished, let's get back to camp."

"Yes, I agree," Barbara added, and I could see in her eyes that she was still worried about Ian. I found myself having a smidgen of concern for the brave young man as well.

"Right, let's go," Terna agreed, quickly slipping the magnifying glass back into her pocket so as to douse the flames. Reaching into her other pocket, she pulled out the ring Susan had found in the woods. Kissing it deeply, she slipped it onto her finger.

Alydon and Dyoni were anxiously waiting for us when we returned from the Gyrum. Terna seemed to be in rather high spirits despite the dark things she'd remembered from the Amina absorption. However, as much as I wanted to, I would not press her further until we had returned to the others.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Alydon inquired once we'd resurfaced.

"Yep," Terna replied. She faltered slightly when she caught sight of Alydon's eyes quickly drift further into the trees, just beyond the Gyrum entrance, his pale gaze thick with worry.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Forgive me. I am a little concerned that we are so close to the marsh," Alydon admitted.

"The marsh? What do you mean?" Susan inquired.

"The marsh used to be a resort before the war. It was a forest like haven that grew out of the back of the city that the Daleks now occupy."

Terna arched an eyebrow. "It leads into the city?"

"Yes, but it is heavily toxic now; the waters are polluted," Alydon explained.

"Then I can see the cause for your concern. Come, let us head back to the camp," I urged the others. No one needed to be told twice as they all broke from the Gyrum and headed back into the jungle towards the Thal encampment. Terna went last, and I caught a brief glimpse of her pausing to glance over her shoulder towards the direction of the marsh.

When we returned to the clearing:

"Ian!" It didn't seem that Barbara could get across the clearing fast enough. Tottering along on her heels, she threw herself into Ian's arms. Ian hugged her back, slightly taken aback at her forcefulness at first. He looked pale and exhausted, but seemed to perk up slightly at the sight of Barbara. The Thals that were with him, however, looked very grim.

"Temmosus is dead," one of them informed Alydon.

"I got to the meeting hall where the Daleks and the Thals were set to meet, but I was too late and their leader was killed."

"You managed to get the others out, though," Barbara stated. "And that is an accomplishment. Oh, we were so worried you'd been killed."

"Yes, we had a heck of a time trying to get out of the city," Ian replied.

"And if it hadn't been for your valor in warning my people, we all would have perished at the hands of the Daleks," Alydon commended, his light eye dark, as Dyoni sobbed into his shoulder. "As I am now leader of this tribe, I can congratulate you with the highest honor of the Thal people."

"Thank you," Ian nodded his head solemnly.

"What are we to do now, Alydon?" the other Thals all looked to their new leader.

Alydon paused. "If only I knew why the Daleks hated us; I could change our approach towards them."

"Your leader, Temmosus, appealed to the Daleks very sensibly, any reasonable creature would have complied, but the Daleks had the intent of slaughtering you from the start," Ian stated grimly.

"Why? Why kill without any thought or reason?" Dyoni sobbed.

"The Daleks are made without Amina, they are devoid of all emotion and compassion," Terna declared. "Like living machines if that oxymoron makes any sense." Once again, I could see that same darkness in Terna's eyes. "Bu I remember during the war, the Daleks fought brutally against all life that was not like their own; either you joined forces with them or you were brutally destroyed."

"A dislike for the unlike," Ian mused.

Alydon glanced from Terna to Ian "I don't follow you."

"The Daleks are hostile towards you because you are different from them," Terna explained. "No matter what you do, they will not comply with your wishes. No compromise can be made if you do not wish to become Daleks yourselves."

The air around the clearing seemed to become very cold; it hung thick with a dense quiet upon Terna's revelation.

"Then what would you have us do?" Dyoni whispered, wiping her eyes.

"We will build a mourning pyre for Temmosus," Alydon announced. "Our brave leader shall not have died without honor."

"I wouldn't recommend that," Terna piped up. "The smoke for the fire will alert the Daleks of your position. The last thing you need is for your position to be given away. You have the element of surprise on your side after all; it's best you keep it."

Alydon raised a brow. "You speak as though we intend to fight."

"Don't you?" Terna cried.

"Do not be hasty, Terna," Ian insisted. "For the moment, I think it best for the Thals to at least get the Daleks to respect them, to show some strength against them."

"But you think we ought to fight as well." Dyoni saw through Ian.

"I think it may come to that."

"You know less about our people than the Daleks do!" Dyoni cried, her pretty face flushing with rage. Ah, pacifists. That could be a problem.

"The Daleks cannot leave their city, but suppose they could," Ian mused. "What would you do then?"

"We would return to our plateau where we came from," Alydon calmly replied.

"You'd simply run away?" Barbara exclaimed.

"What? Are you insane?" Terna cried. "The Daleks tried to have your people exterminated; they led you into a trap that could have been a slaughter. They brutally murdered your chief. And you choose not to retaliate?"

"There are things that are worth preserving," Alydon insisted. "The war has destroyed our planet, crippled our civilization. What would another do with so few of us left? We could face extinction."

"You are a fool," Terna snapped, getting up in Alydon's face. "You already face extinction. If you do not gain access to the Dalek's food and resources, your people shall all perish, and it is pretty clear the Daleks will not give it up without a fight."

"I will not jeopardize the safety of the Thal people at the behest of a stranger," Alydon shot back.

"The Daleks destroyed my people, you pacifist fool!" Terna exclaimed. "And they will destroy yours if you just sit idly by. You think you're safe in the jungle? The Daleks must have a means of leaving the city and if not, believe me, they will find a way."

"We shall not risk our lives," Alydon declared. "We are not afraid to die, Temmosus proved that, but we shall not throw them away needlessly."

"She's not talking about dying," Ian insisted. "And you can't just hand yourselves over to the Daleks; they will find a way to destroy you."

"I can see that you want to help us, but as Dyoni said, you simply do not understand our ways. There can be no question of the Thals fighting the Daleks," Alydon stated; his voice was calm but cold, shutting Terna down with the ferocity of his gaze. However, Terna did not wilt under the look he gave her. She remained poised and firm with a queen's posture.

Well, she's a good arguer, I'll give her that. However, on the subject of our fate, now that Chesterton had returned, and Terna's got the energy from the Gyrum, I see little reason for us to remain on Skaro.

"Chesterton, I do believe we have overstayed our welcome, and I think it's high time we return to the ship," I declared.

"Grandfather, we could stay a little longer," Susan protested. "The Thals are such nice people."

"And the Daleks are not," I reminded her. "Which is why I think we better go."

"What?" Terna cried. "We can't just leave them all here to die!"

"Our fates do not rest with the Thals, Terna," I retorted sharply. "We have ourselves to worry about."

"Time Lord, you cannot ask me to simply walk away." I was startled by the barely masked anguish I detected in Terna's voice. "I have a chance to avenge my people, and you expect me to just walk away from that?"

"Terna, be reasonable…"

"Do not speak to me of reason," Terna cried. "I remember…The Daleks forced us to retreat; not just from this planet but from this universe. The only reason why I was left behind was because I crashed into the TARDIS."

"Then you ought not to risk your life when you got so lucky the first time. Now come along," I declared.

As I spoke, I headed off towards where we'd parked the TARDIS. Obediently, Susan followed close behind me. At first, Ian and Barbara lingered. They watched as a few of the male Thals brought Temmosus's body forward. The air was soon alive with the sounds of weeping as they heaved the body towards a collection of ash they'd gathered together. As the Thals laid the body of their fallen leader upon the pyre, the two humans exchanged a glance.

"Perhaps its best to leave well enough alone," Ian reluctantly stated. "It would seem pacifism has become a survival instinct for the Thals."

"Yes, all those centuries of fighting…I suppose it's understandable," Barbara mused. "Well, then let us get back to the ship and get as far away from here as possible."

Good woman, I always knew she was the one with more sense.

I smiled to myself as I fiddled with the lock on the TARDIS. It was about time we'd left, even if the reason we'd lingered in the first place was because of my curiosity. Not that I was about to bring that up.

"Alright," I announced, thrusting the door open. "Chesterton, would you hand me the fluid link? You had it last."

Behind me, Ian froze. "Fluid link…" Ian swallowed hard.

"Yes, the one we went into the city to fill with mercury even though it didn't really need it," I exclaimed, my patient thinning. "Come now, dear boy; I can't start the ship without it," I declared.

"I…I don't…" Ian's voice trailed off.

Susan paled. "You lost it!"

"Oh, Ian, you can't have," Barbara cried.

"No, the Daleks took it from me," Ian asserted. "When they searched us…The link is down in the city somewhere."

Oh, how things come full circle. There's some irony in this somewhere, but I'm far too distressed at the moment to figure out where exactly. The fluid link, the central key to the TARDIS engine is stranded down in the middle of a city full of murderous Daleks, and all we got is a bunch of pretty pacifists to show for it. How could things possibly get any worse?

"Hey, maybe Terna can call it back," Susan suddenly piped up. "She did it with her magnifying glass. Terna, do you think you could…Terna?"

Susan glanced around, as did the other two, but Terna did not respond.

Worse, oh much worse. I should have noticed; the woman is never that quiet for so long….

Terna was gone.

()()()

My heart pounded in my head as I sprinted full force along the forest floor; the grey trees loomed around me on all sides. I moved as quietly and as quickly as possible, trying to retain my frantic breathing. My eyes scanned the surrounding forest scape. There! I spotted the rock with Gamma carved in the side. My pace never slackening, I change direction and skidded around the rock and further into the denser parts of the forest. The branches stretched out into the path, reaching and clawing like long, spindly arms. They snagged at my dress and hair, slackening my procession and I was forced to rip and tug them forcefully from my body as I stumbled about, half blind in the waning half-light. At one point, my sight left me completely, so dense was the jungle, and the shadowed darkness of the trees closed in around me, like a blanket suddenly being thrown over my head. Dazed and disoriented, I stumbled and tripped, falling on my face in the dirt. I sat up with a groan, spitting ash from my mouth. I would not stop.

I quickly staggered back to my feet. Alydon said that the marsh was just a few yards beyond the Gyrum, and beyond that was the entrance to the city.

Barely pausing to draw breath, I took off towards the city and the Daleks within it. If the Doctor and the others wouldn't stay and fight, than I certainly would. I wasn't going to run from the Daleks. Not this time.

A/N: Another cliff hanger, sorry. And I apologize for the spacing issues I've been having. I try to space in word documents but its always compressed when I upload. Bear with me...And I promise the Dalek Arc will be concluded in the next chapter. Also, we shall learn a little more about Terna's past. Stay tuned

Translation:

Gamma- in science it is used to represent light

Gyrum- Latin for 'vault'

Amina- I forgot to mention this earlier, but Amina is a play on the word 'anima' which means 'soul' and the word 'amina' itself also means 'trustworthy' in Arabic.


End file.
